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A  HISTORY  OF 
TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


A  History  of  Travel 

in 

America 


Being  an  Outline  of  the  Development  in  Modes  of  Travel  from  Archaic 
Vehicles  of  Colonial  Times  to  the  Completion  of  the  First  Trans¬ 
continental  Railroad  :  the  Influence  of  the  Indians  on  the  Free 
Movement  and  Territorial  Unity  of  the  White  Race:  the 
Part  Played  by  Travel  Methods  in  the  Economic  Conquest 
of  the  Continent:  and  those  Related  Human  Experiences, 
Changing  Social  Conditions  and  Governmental  Atti¬ 
tudes  which  Accompanied  the  Growth  of  a 
National  Travel  System 


BY 

SEYMOUR  DUNBAR 


With  two  maps,  twelve  colored  plates  and  four  hundred  illustrations 


VOLUME  I 


INDIANAPOLIS 

THE  BOBBS-MERRILL  COMPANY 


PUBLISHERS 


\\l20i 

.1)77 

V- 1 


Copyright  1915 
The  Bobbs-Merrill  Company 


PRESS  OF 
BRAUNWORTH  &  CO. 
BOOKBINDERS  AND  PRINTERS 
BROOKLYN,  N.  Y. 


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r-  c-  f* 

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V/  ^  J 


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To  L.  D. 


/ 


PREFACE 


A  story  of  national  growth  does  not  simply  recite  the 
results  of  human  endeavor:  it  is  more  deeply  concerned 
with  the  character  of  the  people  discussed,  and  with  the 
ideals,  motives  and  methods  underlying  their  acts. 

Understanding  of  history  is  not  gained  through  mere 
acquaintance  with  what  was  done.  It  is  obtained  by  com¬ 
prehension  of  the  purpose  and  manner  of  the  doing. 
Those  individual  figures  and  throngs  of  mankind  who 
inhabit  the  pages  of  written  history  should  not  be  man¬ 
ikins  or  mummies,  but  living  men  enacting  their  daily 
deeds,  vitalized  with  the  spirit  that  moved  them  while 
they  were  indeed  here.  We  should  be  able  to  see  them; 
to  hear  their  cries  of  fear  or  delight;  to  smile  at  their 
revelry;  feel  anger  at  their  evil  and  deceit,  regret  at  their 
blunders,  pride  in  their  worthy  accomplishments.  Only 
by  coming  thus  close  to  the  past — by  knowing  it  to  be  part 
of  our  own  lives  instead  of  looking  upon  it  as  a  museum 
of  curiosities — can  we  apply  its  value  as  a  guide  to  our¬ 
selves. 

Doubtless  it  is  no  longer  possible  to  tell  in  words  and 
pictorially  portray,  with  reasonable  completeness,  the 
historical  conditions  considered  in  these  volumes.  That 
this  should  be  so  is  cause  for  regret,  since  the  story  of  those 
pioneer  ideas,  struggles  and  devices  out  of  which  grew  a 
nation  in  the  social  and  economic  sense — rather  than  in  a 
political  sense — is  the  foundation  history  of  the  country. 

We  have  now  reached  a  period  sufficiently  removed 


Vll 


PREFACE 


from  the  pioneer  constructive  era  to  see  it  in  its  entirety, 
and,  through  our  ability  in  that  regard,  to*profit  somewhat 
by  the  experiences  of  those  earlier  generations.  They — 
just  as  we  of  to-day — displayed  occasional  wisdom  in  their 
joint  undertakings;  were  often  careless;  sometimes  quite 
blind ;  and  at  times  permitted  themselves  to  be  swayed  by 
desires  whose  indulgence  wrought  harm  to  them.  But  in 
one  particular — during  their  upbuilding  of  a  transporta¬ 
tion  system — they  differed  widely  from  present-day 
Americans.  They  sought  to  create  facilities  for  movement 
and  communication  which  should  meet  previous  and 
desperate  needs;  they  built  for  themselves  and  their  own 
short  day.  We  are  beginning  to  do  much  more  than  that. 
We  are  looking  ahead,  both  for  the  sake  of  ourselves  and 
for  those  who  are  to  come  after  us. 

It  therefore  appears  that  the  underlying  thought  and 
basic  plan  of  the  inexperienced  pioneers,  out  of  which 
grew  the  system  they  made  and  bequeathed  to  us — and 
which  we  are  still  using — is  not  altogether  such  a  thought 
and  economic  plan  as  fits  our  later  desire  and  determina¬ 
tion.  A  conflict  between  old  conditions  and  new  ideas  has 
resulted.  Various  methods  and  practises  which  developed 
out  of  the  pioneer  procedure  have  been  outgrown,  and  no 
longer  fit  the  age  into  which  they  have  survived.  We  are 
now  seeking  to  rid  ourselves  of  the  undesirable  parts  of 
our  inheritance,  with  resolution  so  to  do,  and  are  likewise 
trying  to  avoid  the  making  of  similar  mistakes  while  deal¬ 
ing  with  the  same  large  subject. 

It  follows  that  a  study  of  the  pioneers,  and  of  that  work 
of  theirs  which  has  come  to  be  of  such  importance  to  our¬ 
selves,  may  be  of  aid  to  us  amid  our  present  problems.  If 
the  following  pages  present  some  past  conditions  whose 
intimate  relationship  to  the  world  of  to-day  could  other- 


Vlll 


PREFACE 


wise  have  been  forgotten,  and  if  they  suggest  the  applica¬ 
tion  of  certain  principles  to  our  present  and  future  affairs, 
then  the  work  of  preparing  them  will  have  been  repaid. 
Nations — like  individual  men — must  struggle  over  the 
road  of  the  pilgrim’s  progress. 

In  preparing  the  accompanying  volumes  reliance  has 
been  placed,  wherever  possible,  on  original  and  con¬ 
temporaneous  material  for  text  and  illustration.  Sources 
for  the  text  have  been  files  of  early  newspapers;  various 
collections  of  manuscripts  and  documents  in  libraries, 
historical  societies  and  elsewhere;  diaries,  letters  and 
printed  chronicles  of  pioneers;  narratives  in  state  and  local 
histories;  maps;  state  and  governmental  records;  and  in¬ 
formation  contained  in  earlier  publications  of  a  particular 
sort,  the  titles  to  some  of  which  are  given  in  an  appended 
bibliography. 

The  illustrative  material,  with  its  attendant  notes,  is 
selected  and  arranged  to  form  a  flowing  and  connected 
story  of  its  own,  independent  of  the  text.  Yet  at  the  same 
time  the  pictorial  narrative  is  designed  as  a  commentary 
on  and  explanation  of  the  text.  Technical  description  of 
the  original  prints  and  other  material  will  be  found  in  a 
proper  place. 

I  wish  to  acknowledge  my  obligation  to  my  friends 
*  Carl  Burger,  George  Marriott,  John  Price  Jones,  Charles 
Fuess,  Griffis  Rhys  Jenkyn,  Franklin  Harris,  George 
Mather  Richards,  Frank  P.  O’Brien,  Dexter  Cook,  Hil¬ 
lard  H.  Weer,  Thomas  Embly,  Phanof  Eder,  Edward 
Broderick  and  Leslie  Quirk  for  aid  in  connection  with  the 
preparation  of  this  work. 

My  thanks  are  due  to  the  American  Antiquarian 
Society;  to  the  British  Museum;  the  Congressional 
.  Library;  the  State  Libraries  of  Indiana,  New  Jersey,  New 


IX 


PREFACE 


York  and  Ohio;  the  libraries  of  Boston,  Cincinnati,  In¬ 
dianapolis,  Newark,  New  York  City  and  Providence;  the 
Society  Library  of  New  York  City;  the  University 
Libraries  of  Columbia,  Harvard,  Princeton,  Wyoming 
and  Yale;  and  the  Historical  Societies  of  Connecticut,  In¬ 
diana,  Long  Island,  New  York,  Ohio,  Oregon,  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  and  Wyoming,  for  information  obtained  from  those 
institutions  or  the  use  of  books  and  documents  contained 
in  their  collections. 

j  I  wish  also  to  acknowledge  my  obligation  to  the  anti¬ 
quarians  Messrs.  Robert  Fridenberg,  Emil  Sauer,  Charles 
Everitt,  Edward  Eberstadt,  Edward  Gottschalk,  Joseph 
Sabin,  P.  Stammer,  Oscar  Wegelin  and  Henry  O’Leary 
of  New  York  City,  Messrs.  Rosenbach  of  Philadelphia 
and  Messrs.  Goodspeed  of  Boston,  for  their  professional 
aid  over  an  interval  of  years,  in  searching  out  and  secur¬ 
ing  for  me,  in  America  and  Europe,  the  historical  illustra¬ 
tive  material  herein  reproduced. 

S.  D. 

New  York  City, 

October,  1914. 


c  . 


CONTENTS  BY  CHAPTERS 

CHAPTER  I 

A  SUMMARY  OF  THE  GENERAL  FEATURES  OF  THE  SUBJECT  AND  AN  IN¬ 
DICATION  OF  THE  METHODS  AND  PURPOSES  HEREAFTER  FOLLOWED 
IN  ITS  DISCUSSION . . . 1 

CHAPTER  II  : 

THE  CONDITION  AND  APPEARANCE  OF  THE  COUNTRY  IN  EARLY  DAYS - 

DIFFICULTY  OF  TRAVEL  THROUGH  THE  VAST  FOREST - INDIAN 

TRAILS  THE  FIRST  MEANS  AND  BASIS  OF  LAND  MOVEMENT  BY  THE 

WHITES - TRAVEL  BY  WATER  PREFERRED  WHENEVER  POSSIBLE - 

HOW  THE  DIFFERENT  TYPES  OF  CANOES  WERE  MADE  AND  USED.  .  14 

CHAPTER  III 

EARLY  DEVELOPMENT  GOVERNED  BY  THE  NEEDS  OF  COMMUNITIES 
RATHER  THAN  BY  KNOWLEDGE  OR  EXPLORATION  —  THE  CENTERS 

FROM  WHICH  TRAVEL  MOVEMENTS  RADIATED - PRIMITIVE  BRIDGES 

- THE  BUILDING  OF  SMALL  BOATS  BEGUN - A  PHILANTHROPIC 

MISTAKE  OF  THE  DUTCH - ORGANIZED  MIGRATIONS  OF  LARGE 

COMPANIES  OF  PEOPLE  AN  IMPORTANT  FEATURE  OF  THE  FIRST 
CENTURY  . 24 


CHAPTER  IV 

POLE-BOATS  AND  THE  MANNER  OF  THEIR  NAVIGATION - INCREDIBLE 

LABOR  PERFORMED  IN  USING  THEM - THE  INFLUENCE  OF  CON¬ 
NECTICUT  - BEGINNING  THE  SYSTEMATIC  TRANSFORMATION  OF 

INDIAN  TRAILS  INTO  CRUDE  ROADS - EARLY  FERRIES  AROUND 

BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK - SEDAN  CHAIRS - THE  FIRST  HORSE 

VEHICLES  AND  THEIR  TRIUMPH  OVER  PURITAN  PREJUDICE - LAWS 

AGAINST  TRAVEL - THE  INTRODUCTION  AND  EQUIPMENT  OF  SLEDS 

- TRAVEL  IN  WINTER - RESULT  OF  THE  FOUNDING  OF  PHILADEL¬ 
PHIA - THE  EVOLUTION  OF  THE  OLD  INDIAN  TRAIL  ACROSS  NEW 

JERSEY - LONG  HORSEBACK  JOURNEYS  BECOME  POSSIBLE - THE 

ADVENTURES  OF  MISTRESS  KNIGHT  OF  BOSTON . 38- 


XI 


CONTENTS  BY  CHAPTERS 


CHAPTER  V 

ANOTHER  ELEMENT  IN  THE  PROBLEM - EARLY  CONDITIONS  PRO¬ 
FOUNDLY  INFLUENCED  BY  THE  NATIVE  INHABITANTS - THE 

STRATEGIC  GEOGRAPHICAL  POSITIONS  HELD  BY  THE  INDIANS - 

THEIR  EARLY  ATTITUDE  TOWARD  WHITE  MEN - NATURE  OF 

INDIAN  PROPRIETORSHIP  OVER  LANDS - COVETOUSNESS  OF  THE 

WHITES - DEVELOPMENT  OF  NATIVE  PREJUDICE  TOWARD  ENGLISH 

TRAVEL  MOVEMENT  AND  ITS  CAUSES - TREATMENT  OF  EACH  RACE 

BY  THE  OTHER - A  CENTURY  AND  A  HALF  OF  CONFLICT - BLOCK¬ 
HOUSES  - EFFECT  OF  EUROPEAN  POLITICS  AND  INTERCOLONIAL 

JEALOUSIES  —  FIRST  SYMPTOMS  OF  THE  IMPENDING  WESTWARD 

MOVEMENT  APPEAR - THE  DOMINATION  OF  THE  WHITE  RACE 

INEVITABLE  . 57 

CHAPTER  VI 

EARLY  CONDITIONS  IN  THE  SOUTH - RADICAL  DIFFERENCES  BETWEEN 

ITS  DEVELOPMENT  AND  THAT  OF  THE  NORTH - THE  LIMITED 

MOVEMENT  OF  EARLY  DAYS - ORIGIN  AND  EFFECT  OF  THE  PLAN¬ 
TATION  SYSTEM - SOCIAL  CLEAVAGE - WASHINGTON  AS  A  TYPE 

OF  ONE  CLASS - THE  TASK  OF  THE  PEOPLE  AND  THE  MANNER 

IN  WHICH  THEY  FOUND  STRENGTH  TO  PERFORM  IT . 84 

CHAPTER  VII 

THE  FIRST  AMERICANS  WHO  MARCHED  TO  THE  WEST - THEIR  ANCES¬ 
TRY,  QUALITIES,  APPEARANCE  AND  MANNER  OF  LIVING - LOG 

CABINS,  THEIR  CONSTRUCTION,  FURNISHINGS  AND  INDUSTRIES - 

NATURE  OF  THE  EDUCATION  OF  THE  HILL  PEOPLE  OF  THE 

SOUTH - THEIR  PECULIAR  FITNESS  FOR  THEIR  APPROACHING 

TASK - THE  REPUBLIC  OF  WAUTAGA . 97 

CHAPTER  VIII 

POPULAR  IGNORANCE  OF  THE  COUNTRY  BEYOND  THE  ALLEGHANIES - 

DANIEL  BOONE  COMES  ON  THE  SCENE - HOW  HE  GOT  HIS  LOVE 

OF  FORESTS  AND  SOLITUDE - EIGHT  GO  AWAY  AND  TWO  COME 

BACK - THE  RESOLVE  OF  THE  CABIN  DWELLERS - BEGINNING  OF 

THE  WESTWARD  COURSE  OF  EMPIRE - A  CARAVAN  ON  THE 

MARCH - A  TEMPORARY  CHECK - THE  SCHEME  OF  THE  TRAN¬ 
SYLVANIA  COMPANY . 118 

CHAPTER  IX 

BOONE’s  WILDERNESS  ROAD - FIRST  TRAVEL  ROUTE  MADE  BY  WHITE 

MEN  TO  THE  INTERIOR  OF  THE  CONTINENT - THE  WARRIORS' 

PATH,  AND  HOW  BOONE  USED  IT - WILLIAM  CALK’S  DIARY  OF  A 

JOURNEY  TO  CAINTUCK - ITS  VALUE - WHAT  THE  FIRST 

MARCHERS  DID  WHEN  THEY  REACHED  THE  PROMISED  LAND - 

THE  FOOD  QUESTION - SOME  EFFECTS  OF  THE  WILDERNESS  ROAD 

ON  THE  FORTUNES  OF  THE  REVOLTING  COLONIES . 136 

•  • 

XII 


CONTENTS  BY  CHAPTERS 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  NATIONAL  TRANSPORTATION  SYSTEM  FROM  1775  TO  1800 - EX¬ 
TENSION  AND  USE  OF  WILDERNESS  ROADS - A  JUNCTION  POINT 

IN  THE  FOREST - THE  TRAVEL  ROUTE  INTO  TENNESSEE - RELA¬ 
TIONSHIP  BETWEEN  FOREST  TRAILS  AND  RIVERS - EARLY  EFFORTS 

TO  IMPROVE  THE  PATHS - DESCRIPTIONS  OF  MOVEMENTS  OVER 

THEM - PLACE  OF  WOMEN  IN  PIONEER  LIFE  AND  WORK - A 

CHART  OF  WESTWARD  MARCHES . 151 

CHAPTER  XI 

UNIVERSAL  TRANSPORTATION  FACILITIES,  RATHER  THAN  POLITICS  OR 

WARS,  THE  COMPELLING  FORCE  OF  A  REAL  NATIONAL  UNITY - 

INTRODUCTION  OF  REGULARITY  AND  PERIODICITY  IN  TRAVEL - ITS 

CAUSES  AND  CIRCUMSTANCES - UNHEEDED  GROWTH  OF  THE 

PRINCIPLE  AND  ITS  FINAL  EFFECT - REGULAR  STAGE-COACHES 

APPEAR - THE  FOUR-WHEELED  FLYING  MACHINE - TRAVEL  CON¬ 

DITIONS  BETWEEN  PHILADELPHIA,  NEW  YORK,  BOSTON  AND  BALTI¬ 
MORE - DESCRIPTIONS  BY  TRAVELLERS - THE  “STEP-LIVELY”  ERA 

BEGINS . . . .  .  .171 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  ERA  OF  THE  PACK-TRAIN - GENERAL  USE  OF  THAT  METHOD  OF 

TRAVEL  AND  TRANSPORTATION  THROUGHOUT  MUCH  OF  THE  COUN¬ 
TRY - OPPOSITION  BY  PACK-HORSE  MEN  TO  THE  INTRODUCTION  OF 

WHEELED  VEHICLES - CONDITIONS  IN  PENNSYLVANIA - TWENTY 

DAYS  TO  PITTSBURGH - APPEARANCE  OF  THE  CONESTOGA  WAGON — • 

ITS  LONG-CONTINUED  IMPORTANCE - WINTER  TRAVEL  MOST  POP¬ 
ULAR  . 192 

CHAPTER  XIII 

EARLY  TAVERNS - THEIR  RELATION  TO  TRAVEL  AND  PUBLIC  AFFAIRS - 

RATES  FIXED  BY  LAW - CONSTABLES  WATCHED  TRAVELLERS 

CLOSELY - HOW  THE  SLEEPING  PROBLEM  WAS  SOMETIMES 

SOLVED - A  TAVERN  DINNER  TABLE  EQUIPPED  TO  SATISFY  HUN¬ 
GER  RATHER  THAN  FOR  ARTISTIC  DISPLAY - LAWS  REGULATING 

RETAIL  CHARGES  FOR  FOOD - UNIVERSAL  HOSPITALITY  OF  THE 

SOUTH - FIRST  TRAVEL  TO  INTERIOR  NEW  YORK - EFFECT  OF 

THE  REVOLUTION  ON  THE  MENTAL  CONDITION  OF  THE  PEO¬ 
PLE  . . . 207 

•  •  • 

Xlll 


i 


CONTENTS  BY  CHAPTERS 


CHAPTER  XIV 

JOHN  FITCH  CONCEIVES  THE  PLAN  OF  APPLYING  STEAM  TO  THE  PUR¬ 
POSES  OF  TRAVEL  AND  TRANSPORTATION - HIS  EARLY  METHODS 

AND  MODELS - THE  IDEA  PLACED  BEFORE  MANY  LEGISLATURES 

AND  PUBLIC  MEN - NO  ONE  GRASPS  ITS  VALUE - HE  SECURES 

RECOGNITION  AND  MONOPOLISTIC  PRIVILEGES - JEERS  GREET  THE 

FIRST  BOAT  MOVED  BY  STEAM  IN  AMERICA - PERSISTENCE  OF  THE 

INVENTOR . 232 

CHAPTER  XV 

fitch’s  SECOND  BOAT - CONTEMPORARY  ACCOUNTS  OF  IT - THE 

THIRD  VESSEL - FIRST  REGULARLY  OPERATED  STEAMBOAT  IN  THE 

WORLD - IT  IS  RUN  ON  THE  DELAWARE  FOR  SEVERAL  MONTHS - 

MORE  CONTEMPORARY  STATEMENTS - DISASTER - THE  INVENTOR 

IS  CALLED  A  MADMAN - PERSISTS  “FOR  THE  BENEFIT  OF  OUR 

EMPIRE” - GOES  TO  FRANCE  AND  LEAVES  HIS  PLANS  THERE - 

RETIRES  TO  THE  KENTUCKY  WILDERNESS  AND  MAKES  A  STRANGE 
WHEELED  ENGINE DESPAIR DEATH . 249 

CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  AGE  OF  THE  FLATBOAT,  ARK  AND  KEEL-BOAT  BEGINS - EFFECT  OF 

THE  OPENING  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY  - — A  MILLION  PEO¬ 
PLE  DRIFT  THROLTGH  THE  INTERIOR - LIFE  ON  THE  FLATBOATS - 

CONTRASTS  OF  TRAGEDY  AND  REVEL - DESCRIPTIONS  AND  USES  OF 

THE  VARIOUS  CRAFT  BY  WHICH  THE  FIRST  GENERAL  TRAVEL  TO 
THE  OHIO  COUNTRY  AND  MIDDLE  WEST  WAS  ACCOMPLISHED.  .  .268 

CHAPTER  XVII 

A  RIVER  JOURNEY  THAT  ENDED  IN  TRAGEDY - MANY  VOYAGERS  IGNO¬ 
RANT  OF  WILDERNESS  EXPEDIENTS - THE  WESTERN  BOATMEN  — 

THEIR  APPEARANCE,  HABITS  AND  SPEECH - FURNISHINGS  OF  A 

FLATBOAT - DANGERS  OF  NAVIGATION - HUMAN  VULTURES - 

FIRST  PERIODIC  BOAT  TRAFFIC - OHIO  PACKETS - THE  ADMIRAL 

OF  A  FLOATING  DEPARTMENT  STORE - TIME  CONSUMED  ON 

TRIPS - END  OF  THE  FLATBOAT  PERIOD . . 288 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

INTERIOR  NEW  YORK  RE-OCCUPIED - HOW  FENIMORE  COOPER  ACQUIRED 

HIS  LOVE  OF  THE  WILDERNESS - TALLEYRAND  TELLS  WHY  HE 

LAUGHED - THE  BALTIMORE  AND  GENESSEE  STEAM  PACKET - A 

WATER  ROUTE  TO  THE  WEST - ADVENTURES  OF  MICHAUX,  CUM¬ 
ING  AND  SCHULTZ - THE  MAN  FROM  ST.  LOUIS - A  VIEW  OF 

TRAVEL  CONDITIONS  AS  THEY  EXISTED  JUST  BEFORE  THE  EPOCH 
OF  MECHANICAL  VEHICLES . 310 


XIV 


! 


* 

* 

CONTENTS  BY  CHAPTERS 

CHAPTER  XIX 

FULTON  AND  THE  CLERMONT - PUBLIC  ACCEPTANCE  OF  THE  PRINCI¬ 
PLE  THAT  STEAM  COULD  BE  USED  IN  TRANSPORTATION - THE  SIX¬ 

TEEN  AMERICAN  STEAMBOATS  OPERATED  PRIOR  TO  THE  CLERMONT 
- RELATION  OF  EARLY  STEAMBOATS  TO  THE  CLERMONT  AND  INCI¬ 
DENTS  CONNECTED  WITH  HER  EVOLUTION . 341 

CHAPTER  XX 

DELAY  IN  THE  INTRODUCTION  OF  STEAMBOATS - ITS  CAUSE - A  LOST 

OPPORTUNITY - FITCH’S  RIGHTS  IN  NEW  YORK  TRANSFERRED  TO 

FULTON  AND  LIVINGSTON - THEY  PLAN  A  GENERAL  MONOPOLY  — 

THE  COURTS  CLASS  STEAMBOATS,  ALONG  WITH  INFECTED  GOODS,  AS 

THINGS  WHOSE  ENTRY  INTO  THE  STATE  MAY  BE  FORBIDDEN - 

COMPETITION  APPEARS - NEW  YORK’S  LEGISLATURE  AUTHORIZES 

FULTON  TO  SEIZE  COMPETING  BOATS - IT  ALSO  PROVIDES  THAT 

THEIR  OWNERS  MAY  BE  PUT  IN  PRISON - FIRST  STEAMBOAT  ON 

THE  OHIO  AND  MISSISSIPPI - ATTITUDE  OF  THE  PEOPLE  AS  THEY 

BEHELD  IT - WHAT  HAPPENED  AT  LOUISVILLE...., . 371 

CHAPTER  XXI 

EARLY  STEAMBOATS  OF  THE  WEST - SHREVE  AND  HIS  CRAFT - THE 

NEW  YORK  COMPANY  TRIES  TO  STOP  IT  FROM  RUNNING - SHREVE 

WINS  AND  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  WEST  PROCEEDS - CAUSES 

OF  DELAY  IN  THE  EAST - FULTON  S  OFFER  TO  THORNTON - 

NICHOLAS  ROOSEVELT  MAKES  A  FEW  REMARKS - THE  WALK- 

IN-TH  E-WATER - WAR  BETWEEN  SAILING  PACKETS  AND  STEAM 

CRAFT - NEW  ENGLAND  STATES  TRY  TO  KEEP  NEW  YORK  STEAM¬ 

BOATS  OUT  OF  THEIR  WATERS  —  MONOPOLY  FINALLY  OVER¬ 
THROWN - THE  USE  OF  STEAM  IN  TRANSPORTATION  MADE  FREE 

TO  ALL  AFTER  NEARLY  FORTY  YEARS  OF  SPECIAL  PRIVILEGE.  .  .  .392 

CHAPTER  XXII 

CONDITIONS  JUST  PRIOR  TO  THE  FIRST  APPEARANCE  OF  A  MODERN 

TRAVEL  AND  TRANSPORTATION  SYSTEM - ORIGIN  OF  THE  FEDERAL 

DOMAIN  OF  PUBLIC  LANDS - FINAL  PHASE  OF  THE  CONTEST  BE¬ 
TWEEN  RED  MEN  AND  WHITE - ATTITUDE  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT 

TOWARD  THE  INDIANS  BETWEEN  1795  AND  1830 - RECOGNITION 

OF  INDIAN  SOVEREIGNTY - CAUCASIAN  SETTLEMENTS  SEPARATED 

FROM  EACH  OTHER  BY  NATIVE  TERRITORIES - PERMISSION  FOR 

WHITE  TRAVEL  THROUGH  INDIAN  REGIONS  OBTAINED  BY  TREATY - 

HOW  THE  SCATTERED  SECTIONS  OF  THE  NEW  REPUBLIC  WERE 

JOINED  BY  NATIVE  CONSENT - SOME  RESULTS  OF  THE  WHITE 

DIPLOMACY - GENERAL  HARRISON’S  REPORT  OF  1801 . 415 


XV 


CONTENTS  BY  CHAPTERS 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

PURCHASE  OF  INDIANA  AND  ILLINOIS - THE  GOVERNMENT  PREVENTS 

WHITE  MEN  FROM  GIVING  ADVICE  TO  INDIANS - LAWS  OF  INDIANA 

TERRITORY  ON  THE  SUBJECT - FAILURE  OF  TECUMSEH’s  PLAN  TO 

CHECK  CAUCASIAN  ADVANCE - HOW  THE  SANTA  FE  TRAIL,  THE 

MICHIGAN  ROAD  AND  OTHER  WHITE  TRAVEL  ROUTES  WERE  OB¬ 
TAINED  THROUGH  NATIVE  CONSENT - EXPERIENCES  OF  THE 


SHAWNEES  OF  OHIO - THE  STRANGE  WYANDOT  TREATY - ORIGIN 

OF  THE  WAR  OF  1832.  . . . . 437 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

THE  CHARACTER  OF  THE  CAMPAIGN  AGAINST  BLACK  HAWK  AND  THE 

SACS - ITS  ENDING  AT  BAD  AXE - SUCCESS  IN  SIGHT  IN  THE 

NORTH  FOR  THE  GOVERNMENT’S  PLAN  TO  RID  THE  EAST  OF  IN¬ 
DIANS - RELATION  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRADER  TO  THE  RACE  DRAMA - 

THE  WILDERNESS  ARITHMETIC  TABLE - PROCESS  AND  GENERAL 

RESULT  OF  MAKING  THE  RED  MEN  A  DEBTOR  CLASS - NATIVE 

CHARACTERISTICS  THAT  MADE  THE  OPERATION  POSSIBLE - SPE¬ 
CIFIC  EXAMPLES . 458 


CHAPTER  XXV 

A  STRANGE  SITUATION  IN  THE  SOUTH - PROBLEMS  CREATED  BY  THREE 

OVERLAPPING  AND  CONFLICTING  SOVEREIGNTIES - OVERLAND 

COMMUNICATION  BETWEEN  NORTH  AND.  SOUTH  BLOCKED  ALONG 
A  LINE  OF  SIX  HUNDRED  MILES - HEAVY  PUNISHMENT  FOR  UN¬ 
LAWFUL  TRAVEL - THE  INDIANS  GIVE  ROADS  THROUGH  GEORGIA, 

ALABAMA,  MISSISSIPPI  AND  TENNESSEE  TO  THE  WHITES - FED¬ 

ERAL  GOVERNMENT  DESIRES  NATIVES  TO  MAINTAIN  TAVERNS  AND 

FERRIES  FOR  AUTHORIZED  TRAVELLERS - THE  CHEROKEE  NATION 

BECOMES  PART  OWNER  OF  A  WHITE  THOROUGHFARE  AND  RECEIVES 
MONEY  FOR  PERMITTING  UNITED  STATES  CITIZENS  TO  JOURNEY 

BETWEEN  GEORGIA  AND  TENNESSEE - CAUSES  OF  THE  STRENGTH 

AND  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  RED  NATIONS - THE  LAW 

OF  1802  AND  THE  GEORGIA  COMPACT - ELEMENTS  OF  FUTURE 

TROUBLE . • . 484 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

FURTHER  MISTAKES  OF  MONROE - FIRST  OFFICIAL  SUGGESTION  THAT 

NATIONAL  INDEPENDENCE  OF  INDIAN  PEOPLES  IS  NOT  DESIRED  BY 

THE  UNITED  STATES - THE  CAUCASIAN  REPUBLIC  STANDS  AT  THE 

RUBICON  OF  POLICY - REFUSAL  OF  THE  CHEROKEES  TO  SELL  MORE 

LAND  AND  PROCLAMATION  OF  THEIR  FUTURE  PROGRAM - CAL- 

HOUN’S  ADMISSION - MC  KENNEY’S  REPORT  ON  CHEROKEE  CIVILI¬ 
ZATION - FURTHER  CONTEMPORARY  TESTIMONY - J.  Q.  ADAMS 

PUTS  A  STOP  TO  PREVIOUS  METHODS  OF  TREATY  MAKING - GEOR- 


XVI 


CONTENTS  BY  CHAPTERS 


GIA  INVADES  INDIAN  SOVEREIGNTY - ADAMS’  ACTION  IN  REPLY - 

GEORGIA  THREATENS  TO  SEIZE  NATIVE  TERRITORIES  BY  VIO¬ 
LENCE - ADAMS  ADMITS  THE  MORASS  OF  DIFFICULTY  IN  WHICH 

THE  COUNTRY  IS  ENMIRED . 516 

CHAPTER  XXVII 

MISSISSIPPI  AND  ALABAMA  JOIN  GEORGIA  IN  THE  ATTACK  ON  NATIVE 

INDEPENDENCE - DOWNFALL  OF  INDIAN  SELF-GOVERNMENT  IN 

THE  EAST  DRAWS  NEARER - JACKSON  ASSUMES  THE  PRESIDENCY 

AND  CROSSES  THE  RUBICON - CHARACTER  OF  HIS  UTTERANCES 

ON  THE  INDIAN  PROBLEM - APPEAL  OF  THE  CHEROKEE  LEGIS¬ 
LATURE  TO  THE  WHITE  PEOPLE - ACTION  OF  THE  CHOCTAW 

NATIONAL  COUNCIL - PLEDGES  OF  THE  CHOCTAW  TREATY — • 

CONDITIONS  OF  CHOCTAW  SOCIETY - DEMANDS  OF  THE  CHICKA- 

SAWS  AND  EXTENT  OF  THEIR  ADVANCEMENT - JACKSON’S  PER¬ 

SONAL  JOURNEY  TO  MEET  THE  CHICKASAWS  AND  HIS  SPEECH  TO 

THEM - THE  UNITED  STATES  REAFFIRMS  NATIVE  INDEPENDENCE 

AND  RECREATES  WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI  THE  SAME  CONDITIONS 
WHICH  IT  IS  TRYING  TO  DESTROY  IN  THE  EAST . 552 

CHAPTER  XXVIII 

THE  CHICKASAWS  YIELD - JACKSON’S  GRATIFICATION  AND  THE 

METHOD  OF  ITS  EXPRESSION - NEW  DANGERS  ARISE  TO  THREATEN 

THE  PRESIDENT’S  INDIAN  POLICY - GEORGIA  DEFIES  THE  FEDERAL 

GOVERNMENT  AND  JACKSON  PERMITS  THE  NULLIFICATION - THE 

CHEROKEES  ATTEMPT  TO  CARRY  THEIR  CASE  TO  THE  SUPREME 

COURT  AS  A  FOREIGN  NATION - THE  COURT  DECLARES  IT  HAS  NO 

JURISDICTION - ITS  REASON  FOR  THE  DECISION - UNEXPECTED 

EVENTS  RESULT  IN  A  SECOND  JUDGMENT  WHICH  GIVES  THE 
CHEROKEE  REPUBLIC  EQUAL  RANK  WITH  OTHER  NATIONS,  PRO¬ 
NOUNCES  IT  INDEPENDENT  OF  UNITED  STATES  LAW  AND  CON¬ 
DEMNS  Georgia  —  Jackson’s  contradictory  attitudes  and 
THEIR  SIGNIFICANCE . 579 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

HOPES  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  NATIONS  APPARENTLY  DESTROYED  BY  THE 

SUPREME  COURT’S  FIRST  DECISION - CHICKASAWS,  CREEKS  AND 

SEMINOLES  CEDE  THEIR  DOMAINS  EAST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI - THE 

PROMISE  MADE  TO  THEM - IMPORTANCE  OF  THEIR  CAPITULA¬ 
TION - A  TREATY  FINALLY  SIGNED  WITH  SOME  OF  THE  CHERO¬ 
KEES - IT  IS  REPUDIATED  BY  THE  RED  NATION - THE  CHEROKEES 

REDUCED  FROM  PROSPERITY  TO  DISTRESS - THEY  ARE  REMOVED 

TO  THE  WEST  BY  A  FEDERAL  ARMY - OFFICIAL  COMMENT  ON  THE 

TRANSACTION - THE  EAST  AT  LAST  CLEARED  OF  NATIVES  AND  A 

xvii 


CONTENTS  BY  CHAPTERS 

TRANSPORTATION  SYSTEM  ON  UNBROKEN  WHITE  TERRITORY  13 

MADE  POSSIBLE - CONCLUDING  OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  RACE 

QUARREL  ..  .  . . . . . . 600 


CHAPTER  XXX 

THE  PEOPLE,  SOCIETY  AND  NATURAL  CONDITIONS  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI 

VALLEY  AT  THE  COMMENCEMENT  OF  THE  MODERN  ERA - THE 

TASK  WHICH  BEFELL  THE  LAST  PIONEER  GENERATION  OF 

AMERICANS - ISOLATION  AND  MENTAL  SELF-SUFFICIENCY  OF  THE 

POPULATION - ITS  CAUSES  AND  CONSEQUENCES - PECULIAR  GOV¬ 

ERNMENTAL  CONDITIONS  AND  STRANGE  LAWS RULE  BY  AN 

OLIGARCHY REGULATION  OF  TAVERNS,  ROADS,  FERRIES  AND 


NAVIGATION - END  OF  THE  RIVER  PIRATES - OVERLAND  TRAVEL 

ROUTES  OF  THE  EXISTING  FRONTIER . 621 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

A  MORE  INTIMATE  VIEW  OF  THE  PERSONALITY,  CHARACTER,  THOUGHTS, 
HABITS,  SPEECH  AND  MANNERS  OF  THE  LAST  PIONEER  GENERA¬ 
TION,  FROM  ITS  OWN  CONTEMPORARY  RECORDS - WHEELED  VEHI¬ 
CLES  APPEAR  IN  THE  INTERIOR - TRAVEL  ADVENTURES  OF  A 

POLITICAL  CANDIDATE - A  VISIT  TO  CHICAGO  IN  1822 - ECONOMIC 

IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  HORSE  AND  MATTERS  GROWING  THERE¬ 
FROM  - A  NEW  TRIAL  DECLINED  BY  A  HORSE  THIEF - COURT 

SCENES,  PROCEEDINGS  AND  TESTIMONY  IN  OTHER  SORTS  OF 
CASES - A  WHITE  MAN  HANGED  FOR  THE  MURDER  OF  AN  IN¬ 
DIAN  - THE  INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  NIGHTSHIRT  INTO  INDIANA 

TAVERNS - DAVY  CROCKETT  TELLS  A  STORY  OF  FLATBOAT  LIFE - 

THE  VALUE  AND  PURPOSE  OF  AN  INQUIRY  INTO  THE  CHARAC¬ 
TER  OF  THE  LAST  PIONEERS - A  NEW  WILDERNESS  CONFRONTS 

THEM . . 656 

CHAPTER  XXXII 

ORIGIN  OF  THE  NATIONAL  ROAD - THE  GOVERNMENT  ADOPTS  THE 

•  POLICY  OF  BUILDING  TRANSPORTATION  FACILITIES  BY  PUBLIC 

FUNDS - THE  OHIO  LAW  OF  1802 - ITS  SIGNIFICANCE - LATER 

CONGRESSIONAL  ACTS  PROVIDING  FOR  PUBLIC  ROADS  OR  CANALS 

THROUGH  THE  INTERIOR - CONSENT  OF  THE  STATES  FOR  THEIR 

CONSTRUCTION  NO  LONGER  ASKED - JEFFERSON  AND  MADISON 

FAVOR  THE  WORK - TWENTY  YEARS  OF  UNIFORM  FEDERAL  ATTI¬ 

TUDE  —  monroe's  veto  of  1822  —  its  possible  relation  to  gov¬ 
ernmental  RAILROAD  BUILDING A  CONTROVERSY  ARISES  OVER 

THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  POWERS  OF  THE  NATION  — -  HENRY  CLAY'S 


VISION  OF  THE  FUTURE - HIS  TEMPORARY  VICTORY - PRESIDENT 

JACKSON  REVERSES  THE  COUNTRY’S  POLICY  AND  THE  NATIONAL 
ROAD  IS  DIVIDED  AMONG  THE  STATES . . . .  .691 

xviii 


CONTENTS  BY  CHAPTERS 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

LIFE  AND  SCENES  ON  THE  NATIONAL  ROAD - THE  TYPE  OF  MEN  WHO 

WORKED  UPON  IT - THREE  CHARACTERISTIC  FEATURES  OF  ITS 

TRAFFIC - FURTHER  EVOLUTION  OF  THE  STAGE-COACH  AND  IM¬ 
POSING  APPEARANCE  OF  THE  VEHICLE  IN  ITS  FINAL  FORM - SOME 

FAMOUS  DRIVERS - FEATS  OF  HOMER  WESTOVER  AND  REDDING 

BUNTING - CONESTOGA  WAGON  TRAINS  AND  THE  WAGONERS  WHO 

PILOTED  THEM THE  JOKE  ON  GUSTY  MITCHELL HOG 

MUSIC PROGRESS  OF  A  PRESIDENT’S  MESSAGE FATE  OF 

TRAVELLERS  WHO  JOURNEYED  WITH  THE  DOCUMENT - SPECIAL 

COACHES  FOR  THE  PRESIDENTS  THEMSELVES - VAN  BUREN’s  ACCI¬ 
DENT - INCENSE  TO  THE  MEMORY  OF  A  VANISHED  DAY....  71 7 

CHAPTER  XXXIV 

IMPORTANCE  OF  STAGE-COACH  TRAVEL  BETWEEN  1800  AND  1840 - 

SPEED  AND  RATES  OF  FARE - COMPETITION  BETWEEN  RIVAL  NEW 

ENGLAND  LINES - ITS  EFFECT  ON  A  BOSTON  DANCING  MASTER - 

WHEELED  VEHICLES  OF  SMALL  USE  WEST  OF  THE  ALLEGHANIES 

UNTIL  AFTER  1820 - CHICAGO  IN  1833  - DEVELOPMENT  OF  STAGE 

LINES  IN  THE  MIDDLE  WEST - THE  STAGE  DRIVER - ACCIDENTS - 

ADVENTURE  OF  HENRY  CLAY - THE  LOST  SPEECH  OF  BLACK 

HAWK . 741 


CHAPTER  XXXV 

America’s  early  canal  period  —  the  nation  has  not  developed 

BEYOND  THE  NEED  OF  CANALS  BUT  IS  NOW  APPROACHING  ITS 

REAL  CANAL  EPOCH - CAUSES  OF  THE  PHENOMENA  APPEARING 

BETWEEN  1817  AND  1845  - FIRST  AMERICAN  ARTIFICIAL  WATER¬ 
WAYS  - ELKANAH  WATSON’S  IDEAS  AND  WORK - NEW  YORK 

STATE  BUILDS  THE  ERIE  CANAL - SCENES  AT  ITS  OPENING - 

Pennsylvania’s  activity  —  her  early  error  —  a  change  in 

POLICY  RESULTS  IN  A  REMARKABLE  ROUTE  TO  THE  WEST - HOW 

A  TRAVELLER  GOT  FROM  PHILADELPHIA  TO  PITTSBURGH . 770 

•  /  i  _ 

CHAPTER  XXXVI 

STILL  ON  THE  ROAD  TO  PITTSBURGH - CANAL  BOATS  CARRIED  BODILY 

OVER  THE  MOUNTAINS  BY  A  SERIES  OF  INCLINED  PLANES - ORIGIN 

OF  THE  DEVICE - PASSENGERS  BY  THE  PIONEER  LINE  PROMISED  A 

QUICK  TRIP  OF  FOUR  DAYS - COST  OF  REACHING  THE  INTERIOR 

CITIES  BY  THE  PENNSYLVANIA  ROUTE - THE  CHESAPEAKE  AND 

OHIO  CANAL - ITS  EVOLUTION  FROM  WASHINGTON’S  “POTOMAC 

COMPANY” - JEALOUSIES  OF  THE  STATES  INTERESTED  IN  THE 


XIX 


CONTENTS  BY  CHAPTERS 


PROJECT - THE  FEDERAL  GOVERNMENT  BECOMES  A  PARTNER  IN 

THE  WORK - MONROE  APPROVES - JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS*  SHOVEL 

STRIKES  A  ROOT - FINAL  COMPLETION  OF  THE  CANAL  AFTER 

MANY  DELAYS . 797 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 

THE  CANAL  SYSTEM  OF  THE  MIDDLE  WEST - OHIO  TAKES  THE  LEAD - 

INFLUENCE  OF  NEW  YORK’S  EXAMPLE - TWO  IMPORTANT  WATER¬ 
WAYS  CREATED - THEY  UNITE  THE  OHIO  RIVER  WITH  LAKE  ERIE, 

THE  ERIE  CANAL,  THE  HUDSON  RIVER  AND  THE  ATLANTIC - INDI¬ 
ANA’S  CANAL  HISTORY - AID  BY  THE  NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT - 

A  FUNDAMENTAL  ERROR  OF  JUDGMENT  BY  THE  WESTERN  PEO¬ 
PLE - m’nAIRy’s  DECISIVE  SPEECH - THE  WABASH  AND  ERIE 

CANAL  ROUTE  ENCOUNTERS  AN  INDIAN  VILLAGE - RESULT  OF 

“log-rolling”  LEGISLATION  WHEN  APPLIED  TO  PUBLIC  IMPROVE¬ 
MENTS  - TRAFFIC  ON  THE  CANAL - COLLAPSE  OF  INDIANA’S 

SCHEME - MOBS  ATTACK  THE  WATERWAY - ITS  FINAL  ABAN¬ 
DONMENT  .  . 818 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 

TRAVEL  ON  THE  CANALS - THE  EARLY  BOATS  PATTERNED  AFTER  KEEL- 

BOATS  AND  BARGES - CHANGES  IN  THEIR  FORM  AND  ARRANGE¬ 
MENT -  LINE-BOATS  AND  PACKET-BOATS - GOING  TO  BED  ON  A 

CANAL  PACKET - THE  SLEEPING  BUNKS - WHY  A  TRAVELLER 

SOMETIMES  HESITATED  TO  CHOOSE  A  LOWER  BERTH  - CONDITIONS 

ON  A  CROWDED  CRAFT - SLEEPING  ON  THE  FLOOR  AND  TABLES - 

THE  CLOTHES-LINE - EXPERIENCES  OF  AN  UPPER-BERTH  PASSEN¬ 
GER  IN  AN  EFFORT  TO  GET  OUT  ON  THE  ROOF - DELIGHTS  OF 


CANAL  TRAVEL - THE  “FIVE  CENTS  A  MILE”  SCHEME - ADVEN¬ 
TURES  OF  AN  ENGLISHMAN  AND  OF  HORACE  GREELEY . 847 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 

THE  FOSSIL  RAILWAYS  OF  AMERICA - GENERAL  FEATURES  CONNECTED 

WITH  THE  FIRST  APPEARANCE  AND  USE  OF  THE  RAIL  HIGHWAY 

PRINCIPLE  IN  THIS  COUNTRY - OLIVER  EVANS’  PROPOSITION  OF 

1812 - DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  RAILWAYS  BUILT  BEFORE  1827 - 

JOHN  STEVENS,  IN  1812,  URGES  ON  CONGRESS  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF 

BUILDING  RAILROADS  AS  A  NATIONAL  UNDERTAKING - CONGRESS 

CONSIDERS  THE  MATTER  UNIMPORTANT - OBJECT  LESSON  OF  THE 

STEAMBOAT  IGNORED - THE  NEW  TRANSPORTATION  METHOD  IS 

DESTINED  TO  DEVELOP  UNDER  THE  GUIDANCE  OF  PRIVATE 
ENTERPRISE  . . 872 


XX 


CONTENTS  BY  CHAPTERS 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE  MODERN  RAILROAD  ACCURATELY  FORESEEN  AND  DESCRIBED  BY 
AMERICAN  ENGINEERS  BETWEEN  1813  AND  1819 - STEVENS  ABAN¬ 
DONS  HOPE  OF  NATIONAL  ACTION  - DEARBORN  MAKES  ANOTHER 

APPEAL  TO  CONGRESS  IN  1819 - STEVENS  BUILDS  A  LOCOMOTIVE 

AND  EXPERIMENTAL  ROAD  AT  HOBOKEN - HIS  TEST  OF  1820  THE 

FIRST  INCIDENT  IN  A  SERIES  OF  EVENTS  THAT  LED  TO  AMERICAN 

ADOPTION  OF  THE  IDEA - THE  PENNSYLVANIA  CHARTER  OF 

1823 - PUBLIC  DISCUSSION - ATTITUDE  OF  THE  MONEYED 

MEN - ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  PENNSYLVANIA  INTERNAL  IM¬ 
PROVEMENT  SOCIETY . 885 

CHAPTER  XLI 

STRICKLAND  IS  SENT  TO  ENGLAND - THE  INSTRUCTIONS  GIVEN  TO 

HIM - EXCITEMENT  IN  THIS  COUNTRY  OVER  THE  SUBJECT  OF 

railways  —  Strickland’s  drawings  and  their  effect  —  a 

BASIS  FOR  ACTION  AT  LAST - COMPARISON  OF  THE  TWO  METHODS 

BY  WHICH  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA  APPROACHED  A  CONCRETE 

REALIZATION  OF  THE  RAILROAD -  UNDERLYING  CAUSES  OF  THE 

ADVANTAGE  POSSESSED  BY  THE  AMERICANS - THEY  COULD  SEE 

THE  FINISHED  CANOE  IN  THE  TRUNK  OF  THE  UNTOUCHED 
TREE - THE  VINDICATION  OF  THE  DREAMERS . 898 

CHAPTER  XLII 

THE  DREAM-BUILDERS  SUPPLANTED  BY  MEN  DESTINED  TO  PERFORM 

ACTUAL  CONSTRUCTION  WORK  -  EARLY  POPULAR  IDEAS  ABOUT 

RAILROADS -  HOW  THE  PEOPLE  SHOWED  THEIR  INTEREST - CON¬ 
TEMPORARY  NEWSPAPER  COMMENT  AND  PICTURES - THREE  AS¬ 
PECTS  OF  THE  SUBJECT - OPINIONS  ON  THE  PHYSICAL  CHARACTER 

OF  THE  NEW  DEVICE -  HOW  TRACKS  WERE  FIRST  BUILT - MANY 

DIFFERENT  G  '  UGES -  A  MISTAKEN  NOTION  REGARDING  THE  USE 

OF  RAILWAYS  AS  HIGHWAYS - ITS  RESULTS  IN  AMERICA - THE 

CENTER-POST  DEVICE - AN  INDIANA  PREDICTION  OF  1830 - RAIL¬ 
ROADS  AS  MORAL  INFLUENCES - A  MASSACHUSETTS  ROAD  ASKS 

FOR  SERMONS  IN  ITS  BEHALF -  ONE  OF  THE  RESPONSES . 914 

CHAPTER  XLIII 

RAILWAY  BUILDING  BEGINS  IN  MARYLAND  AND  SOUTH  CAROLINA - 

CAN  A  RAILROAD  TRACK  SUCCESSFULLY  CROSS  A  GUTTER? - THE 

BALTIMORE  EDITORS  TRY  A  HORSE  LOCOMOTIVE - OBJECTIONS  TO 

THE  SINGLE-MASTED  METEOR - VON  GERSTNER’s  OBSERVA¬ 
TION - A  NEWSPAPER  ANNOUNCEMENT  OF  AMERICA’S  FIRST 

PASSENGER  TRAIN - THE  TOM  THUMB  VERSUS  HORSE  POWER - 

CHARLESTON  CREATES  THE  FIRST  RAILWAY  DESIGNED  FOR  STEAM  - 

America’s  pioneer  home-made  locomotive  —  its  explosion  — 

LATER  PRECAUTIONS  OF  THE  DIRECTORS - THE  FIRST  NEW  YORK 


XXI 


CONTENTS  BY  CHAPTERS 


STATE  RAILROAD - OPPORTUNE  PRESENCE  OF  MR.  BROWN  AT 

ALBANY - HE  MAKES  A  PICTURE - ALL  ABOARD  FOR  SCHENEC¬ 
TADY  - SOME  INCIDENTS  THAT  OCCURRED  IN  A  TRIP  OF  SEVEN¬ 
TEEN  MILES . .  . 943 


CHAPTER  XLIV 

MORE  EXPERIENCES  ON  EARLY  AMERICAN  RAILWAYS - MANNER  IN 

WHICH  A  PENNSYLVANIA  ROAD  ACQUIRED  A  LOCOMOTIVE - AC¬ 
COUNT  OF  ONE  OF  ITS  TRIPS  BY  A  PEDESTRIAN  PARTICIPANT - 

NEW  YORK  CITY’S  FIRST  LINE - APPREHENSIONS  OF  THE  PUB¬ 
LIC - PRECAUTION  TAKEN  TO  SOOTHE  THEIR  FEARS - THE  RE¬ 
SULT  - THE  CAMDEN  AND  AMBOY  ROAD - ITS  MONOPOLY  OF 

TRAFFIC  ACROSS  NEW  JERSEY - HOW  ISAAC  DRIPPS  BUILT  A  LOCO¬ 
MOTIVE  TENDER - THREE  NEW  ENGLAND  ENTERPRISES - NO 

STEAM  TRAVEL  THERE  UNTIL  1834 - ONLY  SIXTEEN  HOURS  BE¬ 
TWEEN  BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK - PROTEST  OF  AN  OLD-FASHIONED 

TRAVELLER  .  .  .  . .  . 976 


CHAPTER  XLV 

AN  UNEXPECTED  DEMAND  FOR  TRAVEL  FACILITIES - ITS  EFFECT - 

FROM  FENCE-RAIL  TO  AUTOMATIC  COUPLER - EVOLUTION  OF 

THE  AMERICAN  PASSENGER  COACH - DESCRIPTIONS  OF  EARLY 

COACHES - CARS  WITH  UPPER  DECKS,  CUPOLAS,  FLAGS  AND  BAR¬ 
ROOMS  —  A  STANDARD  PASSENGER  VEHICLE  FINALLY  EVOLVED - 

CAPTAIN  VERSUS  ENGINEER - CAPTAIN  AYRES  INVENTS  THE  BELL- 

ROPE  AND  HAS  A  FIGHT - CONSEQUENCES  OF  THE  COMBAT - 

EARLY  SIGNAL  SYSTEMS - STOPPING  AN  ENGINE - THE  SIGNAL 

POLE - THE  ORIGIN  OF  SOME  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT  AND  PRAC¬ 
TISES  . • . 1008 


CHAPTER  XLVI 

EARLY  RAILROAD  TICKETS - THE  “BOOKING”  SYSTEM - ITS  PRACTISE 

AT  PHOENIXVILLE - THROUGH  TICKETS  PREVENTED  BY  THE  JEAL¬ 
OUSIES  OF  ADJOINING  ROADS - FREE  PASSES  APPEAR - ORIGIN  OF 

THE  MODERN  RAIL - DRIPPS  INVENTS  THE  COWCATCHER - THE 

FIRST  PRIVATE  CARS - SLEEPING  CARS  USED  IN  1838 - THEIR 

CONSTRUCTION - THE  TELEGRAPH  EMPLOYED  BY  RAILWAYS - 

AMERICAN  ROADS  FREE  FROM  SERIOUS  FATALITIES  FOR  TWELVE 

YEARS - REASONS  FOR  THE  PHENOMENON - THE  ACCIDENT 

PERIOD  BEGINS - POPULAR  OUTCRY - ATTITUDE  OF  THE  PRESS - 

new  York’s  regulations  of  1856 . 1036 

CHAPTER  XLVI  I 

APPEARANCE  OF  RAILWAYS  IN  THE  MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY - OHIO’S  PIO¬ 
NEER  ROAD - BUILDING  A  TRACK  TO  FIT  AN  ENGINE - INFLU¬ 
ENCE  OF  THE  “SANDUSKY”  ON  RAILROAD  HISTORY - THE  FIRST 

xxii 


CONTENTS  BY  CHAPTERS 


STEAM  TRIP  IN  KENTUCKY - PROTECTING  A  LOCOMOTIVE  FROM 

SNOWFLAKES  -  INDIANA  CONTRACTS  THE  FEVER  -  JOSEPH 

BRUEN’S  MIGRATORY  RAILWAY - HOW  INDIANA  GOT  HER  FIRST 

REAL  ENGINE  IN  1838 - ILLINOIS  BUILDS  A  ROAD - -  THE  STRANGE 

TRAIL  ON  THE  PRAIRIE - CHICAGO’S  ENTERPRISE - THE  TOWN 

FORBIDS  A  RAILWAY  TO  ENTER  ITS  LIMITS - EARLY  ROADS  OF  THE 

SOUTHERN  STATES - WORK  OF  CINCINNATI  AND  ST.  LOUIS - THE 

MISSISSIPPI  FINALLY  REACHED  BY  IRON  TRACKS - THE  CELEBRA¬ 
TIONS  OF  1857 . •  1062 


CHAPTER  XLVIII 

GENERAL  VIEW  OF  TRAVEL  CONDITIONS  EAST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI  JUST 
BEFORE  THE  GREAT  OVERLAND  RUSH  TO  THE  FAR  WEST - A  CON¬ 

FUSING  AND  CHAOTIC  HODGE-PODGE  OF  STAGE-COACHES,  STEAM¬ 
BOATS,  CANALS  AND  LITTLE  RAILWAYS - ONLY  TWO  WEEKS  RE¬ 
QUIRED  FOR  AN  EXTENSIVE  TRIP  IN  THE  EASTERN  REGION - MORE 

SYMPTOMS  OF  IMPROPER  RAILWAY  PRACTISES  APPEAR - FRAUDS 

COMMITTED  ON  TRAVELLERS - COSTS  OF  VARIOUS  JOURNEYS  AND 

THE  TIME  CONSUMED  BY  THEM - CONDITIONS  IN  THE  SOUTH 

AND  MIDDLE  WEST - FROM  BALTIMORE  TO  NEW  ORLEANS  IN  SEVEN 

DAYS,  BY  MEANS  OF  FIVE  RAILROADS,  TWO  STEAMBOATS  AND  TWO 
STAGE-COACHES,  AT  A  COST  OF  $62.50 . 1096 

CHAPTER  XLIX 

THE  OVERRUNNING  OF  THE  WEST - LAST  PHASE  OF  A  TASK  COMMENCED 

MORE  THAN  TWO  CENTURIES  BEFORE - AN  OUTBURST  OF  HUMAN 

ENERGY  AND  AMBITION - OUR  TWO  VIEWS  OF  THE  MIGRATIONS  — • 

THEIR  WORLD  IMPORTANCE - BOONE’S  INFLUENCE  STILL  ACTIVE - 

VALUE  OF  THE  MISSOURI  RIVER  AS  AN  EARLY  ROUTE  INTO  THE 


WEST - ITS  PIONEER  CRAFT - FIRST  STEAMBOATS - AUDUBON 

AND  THE  WHISKY - CAPTAIN  SIRE’S  INSPIRATION . 1125 


CHAPTER  L 

THE  RELATION  OF  THE  INDIANS  OF  THE  WEST  TO  TRANSCONTINENTAL 
TRAVEL - RED  PEOPLES  NATIVE  TO  THE  REGION  BEYOND  THE  MIS¬ 

SISSIPPI  STILL  RETAINED  THEIR  SELF-RULE  AND  OWNED  MUCH  OF 
THE  LAND  WHEN  THE  GREAT  OVERLAND  MIGRATIONS  BEGAN - IN¬ 

DIANS  TRANSPLANTED  FROM  THEIR  EASTERN  HOMES  ALSO  FORMED 

A  BARRIER  TO  WHITE  MOVEMENT  JUST  WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI - 

TREATY  RELATIONS  BETWEEN  THE  GOVERNMENT  AND  THE  WESTERN 

TRIBES - THE  NATIVES  ARE  PAID  LARGE  SUMS  FOR  THEIR  CONSENT 

TO  WHITE  TRAVEL  TOWARD  THE  PACIFIC  AND  FOR  THE  PRIVILEGE  OF 
BUILDING  RAILROADS . 1  161 


XX1U 


CONTENTS  BY  CHAPTERS 

CHAPTER  LI 

THE  CAUCASIAN  CONQUEST  OF  THE  OREGON  COUNTRY - FLOYD  AND 

BAILES,  THE  SEERS  OF  1820 - TRACY  INVENTS  THE  IRRECLAIMABLE 

WESTERN  DESERTS  OF  SAND - RACE  ANTAGONISM  APPEARS  BEYOND 

THE  MISSISSIPPI - WAGONS  REACH  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS - 

INFLUENCES  THAT  DIRECTED  PUBLIC  ATTENTION  TO  THE  NORTH¬ 
WEST - WHITE  WOMEN  FIRST  CROSS  THE  CONTINENT - BONNE¬ 
VILLE  AND  WHITMAN  TAKE  WAGONS  ACROSS  THE  ROCKIES - NEW 

England’s  part  —  origin  and  organization  of  the  “great 
migration”  of  1843 - A  reversion  to  the  early  clan  method 

OF  OVERLAND  TRAVEL - APPLEGATE’S  STORY  OF  THE  MARCH  ..1188 

CHAPTER  LII 

THE  SOUTH  PASS  ROUTE  TO  THE  FAR  WEST - A  TRAPPER  WHO  WAS  ALSO 

A  STATESMAN -  EARLY  RECORDS  AND  HISTORY  OF  THE  PASS - 

WHITMAN  JOINS  THE  MIGRATION  OF  1843 - COMMENT  OF 

AMERICA  AND  ENGLAND  ON  THE  OVERLAND  MOVEMENT - ITS  IM¬ 

POSSIBILITY  DEMONSTRATED  IN  PRINT  WHILE  IT  IS  BEING  PER¬ 
FORMED - THE  OREGON  SETTLERS  FORM  A  GOVERNMENT - WHIT¬ 
MAN  AND  HIS  COMPANIONS  KILLED - THE  RESULT - DISCOVERY 

OF  JOHNSON  AND  WINTER’S  LOST  BOOK - THEIR  ACCOUNT  OF  THE 

BLOOD  COUNCIL  AT  WAIILATPU - THE  TWO  TRAVELLERS  DESCRIBE 

THE  RACE  CONSEQUENCES  OF  WHITE  MOVEMENT  INTO  THE  NORTH¬ 
WEST  AND  RECORD  THEIR  VISION  OF  THE  FUTURE . 1213 

CHAPTER  LIII 

THE  MORMON  OVERLAND  PILGRIMAGE  OF  1846-1848 - EVENTS  THAT 

LED  TO  IT -  EXPULSION  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  LATTER  DAY  SAINTS 

FROM  NAUVOO - COMMENCEMENT  OF  THE  MOST  PRETENTIOUS 

GROUP-MIGRATION  IN  AMERICAN  HISTORY - LIFE  IN  THE  LOG 

HUTS,  SOD  HOVELS  AND  CAVES — •  ATTITUDE  OF  THE  INDIANS - A 

WINTER  OF  SUFFERING - MARCH  OF  THE  ADVANCE  PARTY  IN  1847 

- DISCOVERY  OF  THE  GREAT  SALT  LAKE  VALLEY - TAKING  THE 

NEWS  BACK  TO  THE  MISSOURI - ANOTHER  WINTER  IN  THE 

WILDERNESS - ARRIVAL  OF  THE  WANDERING  HOST  IN  UTAH  AFTER 

TWO  AND  A  HALF  YEARS  ON  THE  ROAD -  UTAH  SETTLED.  .  .  .  1237 

CHAPTER  LIV 

THE  CRY  OF  “GOLD” - ITS  EFFECT - CONDITIONS  IN  CALIFORNIA  DUR¬ 
ING  1846 - THE  LAST  GREAT  RUSH  OF  THE  PEOPLE  BEGINS - 

DARK  SIDE  OF  OVERLAND  TRAVEL  ILLUSTRATED  BY  THE  AD¬ 
VENTURES  OF  THE  DONNER  PARTY - IT  IS  TRAPPED  IN  THE  MOUN¬ 
TAINS  BY  SNOW - EFFORTS  TO  ESCAPE - MARCH  OF  THE  “FIF¬ 
TEEN”  - HUMAN  FLESH  AS  FOOD - LIFE  IN  THE  BURIED  CABINS 

- A  CHRISTMAS  FEAST - HALF  THE  EMIGRANTS  ULTIMATELY 

RESCUED - THE  INDIAN  GUIDES . 1270 


XXIV 


CONTENTS  BY  CHAPTERS 


CHAPTER  LV 

THE  SUFFERING  OF  THE  DONNER  PARTY  NOT  TYPICAL  OF  CARAVAN 

TRAVEL  TO  CALIFORNIA - THE  ROAD  BECOMES  CROWDED - A  LATER 

NARRATIVE,  SHOWING  THE  EXPERIENCES  OF  THE  MARCHERS  FROM 
1849  ONWARD - DIARY  OF  JAMES  ABBEY - HE  AND  HIS  COM¬ 

PANIONS  CROSS  THE  CONTINENT  IN  FOUR  MONTHS  AND  SIXTEEN 

DAYS - STAGE-COACHES  APPEAR - THEY  START  ONCE  A  MONTH 

FROM  INDEPENDENCE  AND  SALT  LAKE  CITY - ACTION  OF  CONGRESS 

IN  1857  - ITS  RESULT - THE  OVERLAND  MAIL - FINAL  CONDI¬ 
TIONS  BEFORE  THE  COMING  OF  THE  RAILWAY . 1298 

CHAPTER  LVI 

THE  IDEA  OF  A  RAILROAD  TO  THE  PACIFIC - ONE  FINAL  TASK  NECES¬ 
SARY  IN  THE  LONG  STRUGGLE  FOR  CONTINENTAL  CONQUEST - 

BIRTH  OF  THE  SCHEME - ITS  EARLY  ADVOCATES - PARKER’S 

WORDS - ASA  WHITNEY  APPEARS -  HIS  PROPOSAL  AND  THE  WIDE¬ 
SPREAD  SUPPORT  IT  RECEIVED - THE  IDEAS  OF  CONGRESS - WHY 

whitney’s  plan  could  not  succeed  —  its  relation  to  the 

OREGON  MIGRATIONS - EFFECTS  OF  THE  EVENTS  OF  1848 - THE 

RAILWAY  CONVENTIONS - A  CONTEST  FOR  ADVANTAGE - EASTERN 

JEALOUSIES  DELAY  THE  PROJECT  FOR  A  DOZEN  YEARS . 1320 

CHAPTER  LVII 

ANOTHER  CAUSE  THAT  HELD  BACK  THE  FIRST  TRANSCONTINENTAL  RAIL¬ 
WAY  - NORTH  AND  SOUTH  COULD  NOT  AGREE  ON  ITS  LOCATION - 

THE  REASON - SENATOR  IVERSON’S  SPEECH - A  LAW  IS  FINALLY 

PASSED - THE  QUESTION  OF  TRACK-WIDTH  ARISES - THE  CON¬ 
FUSION  OF  EXISTING  GAUGES - LINCOLN’S  DECISION - CONGRESS 

REFUSES  TO  ACCEPT  IT - ACTUAL  WORK  BEGINS - HOW  IT  WAS 

PERFORMED - A  HISTORIC  SCENE  UP  IN  THE  MOUNTAINS - THE 

PEOPLE  LISTEN  IN  THE  STREETS - THE  OCEANS  JOINED . 1337 

CHAPTER  LVIII 

SUMMARY  OF  PRESENT  CONDITIONS . . . 1357 


XXV 


Key  to  Abbreviations 


A  list  of  the  abbreviations  used  in  the  technical  descriptions  of  the 
engraving,  size,  origin,  date  and  other  features  of  the  original  prints, 
drawings,  manuscripts,  documents,  broadsides,  maps,  and  similar  material 
reproduced  for  illustrative  purposes  is  here  given.  The  technical  de¬ 
scription,  in  each  case,  follows  the  general  description  in  the  List  of 


Colored  Plates  or  List  of 


Sm . Small. 

L . Large. 

12mo . Duodecimo. 

8vo . Octavo. 

4to . Quarto. 

F . Folio. 

W . Engraved  on  wood. 

S . .Engraved  on  steel. 

C . Engraved  on  copper. 

A . Aquatint. 

M . Mezzotint. 

Lith . Lithograph. 


Col.  Lith ..  .Lithograph  printed  i 
colors. 


Lith.  Col. .  .Lithograph  colored 


after  printing. 

C.  Col . Copper-plate  colored- 

after  printing. 

O . Original. 

Dr . Drawing. 

D . .  .Document. 

Ms . Manuscript. 

B . Broadside. 

Adv . Advertisement. 

T . Type. 

c . About. 

Proof  . Unpublished. 

Amer . American. 


Names  of  countries  other  than  America  are  not  abbreviated.  If 
the  engraving  was  originally  published  in  Germany,  France,  England,. 
Scotland,  Holland,  Sweden,  or  elsewhere,  it  is  so  stated. 

In  any  case  wherein  the  original  engraving  or  drawing  had  a  blank 
margin  of  considerable  or  unnecessary  width,  a  part  of  the  blank  paper 
surrounding  the  drawing  or  engraved  surface  has  been  omitted  in  the 
photographic  reproduction,  as  an  economy  of  space. 

In  a  few  instances  wherein  only  one  detail  of  the  original  engraving 
or  map  required  display,  that  feature  alone  has  been  reproduced  and 
the  irrelevant  part  of  the  original  is  not  shown.  Such  cases  are  indicated 
in  the  technical  descriptions  by  the  words  “Section  of.” 

Save  for  the  exceptions  stated,  the  material  used  for  illustration  is 
shown  in  original  form  and  existing  condition. 


XXVI 


List  of  Colored  Plates 


I.  An  American  stage  wagon  of  1780-1790.  —  8vo. 

Lith.  Col.  Dutch,  c.  1820.  Original  colors. 

Frontispiece:  Vol.  1 

II.  Deck  plan  of  an  early  American  paddle-wheel  steam¬ 
boat. —  L.  F.  O.  Dr.  Amer.  1801-1803.  Orig¬ 
inal  colors  . Page  318 

III.  An  amended  deck  plan  of  the  same  boat.  —  L.  F.  O. 

Dr.  Amer.  1801-1803.  Original  colors.  ...  Page  319 

IV.  Flatboatmen  and  travellers  on  a.  Mississippi  broad- 

horn. —  Sm.  F.  Lith.  Col.  German,  c.  1856. 

Original  colors . Frontispiece:  Vol.  II 

V.  Burning  of  the  steamboat  New  Jersey.  A  Catastrophe 
Broadside.  —  F.  Lith.  Col.  Amer.  c.  1848. 

Original  colors  . Page  411 

VI.  Flatboats  and  steamboat  passing  Cave-in-Rock,  a  haunt 
of  river  pirates.  —  L.  F.  C.  Col.  French,  c. 

1845.  Original  colors . Page  650 

VII.  An  example  of  Erie  Canal  wall-paper.  —  L.  F.  Sten¬ 
cil  Process.  Amer.  1825.  Original  colors, 

Frontispiece:  Vol.  Ill 

VIII.  Passenger  trains  on  an  inclined  plane  of  an  early  Amer¬ 
ican  railway.  —  Sm.  F.  Lith.  Col.  Amer.  1840. 

Original  colors . Page  791 

IX.  The  “Success  to  the  Railroad’’  whisky  bottle. — Olive- 
green  glass.  Molded.  Amer.  c.  1828.  Original 

color . Page  920 

X.  The  collision  on  the  North  Pennsylvania  Railroad, 
near  Philadelphia,  in  1856.  A  Catastrophe  Broad¬ 
side. —  F.  Lith.  Col.  Amer.  1856.  Original 

colors . Frontispiece:  Vol.  IV 

XI.  Race  between  the  Mississippi  River  steamboats  R.  E. 

Lee  and  Natchez.  —  F.  Lith.  Col.  Amer.  1870. 

Original  colors  . Page  1242 

XII.  An  observation  car  on  the  first  transcontinental  rail¬ 
road. —  12mo.  Col.  Lith.  Amer.  1870.  Orig¬ 
inal  colors  . Page  1356 


xxv  u 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NUMBER  PAGE 

1.  Indians  making  a  log  canoe.  —  12mo.  C.  French,  c. 

1820.  Copy  of  a  17th  century  Dutch  print .  4 

2.  An  early  white  traveller  in  a  log  canoe.  —  F.  C.  Dutch. 

c.  1680 .  8 

3.  Large  coastal  canoes  and  sailing  craft. —  12mo.  C. 

French,  c.  1680 .  11 

4.  Indians  building  bark  canoes  in  the  forest.  —  4to.  S. 

Canadian,  c.  1838 .  16 

5.  Travelling  in  the  wilderness  by  bark  canoe. —  4to.  S. 

Canadian,  c.  1838 .  19 

6.  Building  pinnaces  in  New  Amsterdam  for  coastal  jour¬ 

neys. —  12mo.  Lith.  Amer.  1861 . 22 

7.  Constructing  a  large  sailing  boat  on  land.  —  8vo.  Lith. 

Amer.  c.  1830 .  26 

8.  Earliest  type  of  bridge  in  the  Wilderness.  —  8vo.  C. 

Amer.  c.  1825...-. .  27 

9.  Second  variety  of  the  primitive  American  bridge.  —  4to. 

C.  Amer.  c.  1830 .  31 

10.  Movement  of  an  organized  caravan  through  the  forest.  — 

Sm.  C.  Amer.  c.  1820 .  34 

11.  First  forms  of  the  ark  and  keel-boat;  most  primitive  craft 

designed  by  white  men  in  America.  —  Sm.  W.  Amer. 
c.  1812 .  39 

12.  Two  keel-boats  working  their  way  up  a  small  river.  — 

8vo.  C.  Amer.  c.  1808 .  4J 

13.  Bill  submitted  by  a  ferryman  of  Massachusetts  Bay  Prov¬ 

ince. —  O.  Ms.  1709 . 43 

14.  An  early  sailing  ferry  boat  in  New  York  Harbor. — 

12mo.  Lith.  Amer.  c.  1855 .  44 

xxviii 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NUMBER  PAGE 

15.  First  type  of  wheeled  vehicles  to  appear  in  America:  pri¬ 

vate  coaches  for  use  in  New  York  and  Philadelphia.  — 

12mo.  Lith.  Amer.  c.  1855 .  47 

16.  The  type  of  sleigh  called  the  cariole.  —  8vo.  A.  English. 

c.  1815 .  49 

17.  Winter  travel  on  snow-shoes  in  New  England.  —  Sm.  C. 

Amer.  c.  1820 .  51 

18.  Winter  travel  by  means  of  the  dog-sled.  —  8vo.  Lith. 

Amer.  c.  1830 .  54 

19.  A  home-made  horse-barrow.  —  O.  Dr.  by  Joshua  Shaw. 

Amer.  c.  1810-1825 .  60 

20.  The  Yarmouth  coach.  —  Sm.  C.  English,  c.  1780...  65 

21.  An  early  form  of  wagon  for  travel  through  the  woods  and 

between  settlements.  —  Sm.  C.  Amer.  c.  1820...  69 

22.  A  New  England  two-wheeled  ox-cart  in  a  New  Haven 

street.  —  4to.  S.  Amer.  c.  1838 .  75 

23.  The  caleche,  an  ancestor  of  the  one-horse  chaise.  —  12mo. 

C.  French,  c.  1820 .  79 

24.  A  very  fine  private  coach  of  the  late  18th  century.  —  F. 

Lith.  Amer.  c.  1855 .  85 

25.  Manner  of  taking  a  private  coach  across  a  river.  —  8vo. 

A.  Amer.  c.  1830 .  89 

26.  Third  step  in  the  evolution  of  the  bridge :  built  of  timber, 

to  sustain  wagons. —  12mo.  S.  Amer.  c.  1835...  93 

27.  A  backwoodsman  and  his  dog.  —  O.  Dr.  by  Joshua  Shaw. 

Amer.  c.  1810-1825 .  98 

28.  Backwoodsmen  at  work  in  the  forest.  —  O.  Dr.  by  Joshua 

Shaw.  Amer.  c.  1810-1825 .  101 

29.  After  the  ax  had  passed.  Appearance  of  newly  cleared 

land.  —  4to.  C.  English,  c.  1825 .  107 

30.  The  home  and  clearing  of  a  backwoodsman.  —  8vo.  Lith. 

English,  c.  1830 .  Ill 

31.  A  cabin  dweller’s  home.  —  12mo.  Lith.  Amer.  c. 

1840  .  115 

32.  A  two-story  timber  blockhouse.  —  Sm.  F.  C.  English. 

1780  .  119 

\ 


XXIX 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NUMBER  PAGE 

33.  Floor  plans  and  section  of  the  blockhouse  shown  in  the 

preceding.  —  Sm.  F.  C.  English.  1780 . . . .  .  125 

34.  Timber  fort,  with  watch  tower  and  out-buildings.  —  8vo. 

C.  Amer.  c.  1795 .  129 

35.  Pioneer  ferryman  navigating  a  small  canoe  by  means  of  a 

setting-pole.  —  O.  Dr.  by  Joshua  Shaw.  Amer.  c. 
1810-1825  .  132 

36.  Travelling  family  preparing  a  meal  over  a  camp-fire. — 

O.  Dr.  by  Joshua  Shaw.  Amer.  c.  1810-1825....  137 

37.  A  loaded  pack-mule.  —  O.  Dr.  by  Joshua  Shaw.  Amer. 

c.  1810-1825  .  139 

38.  Backwoodsman  putting  his  wife  on  a  pack-horse.  —  O. 

Dr.  by  Joshua  Shaw.  Amer.  c.  1810-1825 .  143 

39.  A  traveller  and  his  pack-horse  climbing  a  hill.  —  O.  Dr. 

by  Joshua  Shaw.  Amer.  c.  1810-1825 .  147 

40.  Cumberland  Gap,  the  gateway  of  overland  travel  through 

the  Alleghanies.  —  4to.  S.  Amer.  c.  1845 .  154 

41.  Overland  travellers  pausing  at  the  top  of  a  hill.  —  Sm.  F. 

C.  Amer.  c.  1830 .  158 

42.  An  incident  of  life  in  the  Kentucky  forest.  —  8vo.  C. 

Amer.  c.  1840 .  161 

43.  Town-people  as  they  appeared  in  the  18th  and  early  19th 

century.  —  O.  Dr.  by  Joshua  Shaw.  Amer.  c.  1810- 
1825  . 165 

44.  Usual  sort  of  town  houses  and  streets.  —  8vo.  Lith. 

Amer.  c.  1830 .  168 

45.  A  stage  wagon :  type  of  the  first  public  and  periodic  land 

travel  conveyance.  —  Sm.  Amer.  Lith.  copy,  c.  1845, 
of  W.  and  T.  Adv.  Amer.  c.  1750 .  173 

46.  Mercereau’s  Flying  Machine.  —  Sm.  Amer.  Lith.  copy, 

c.  1845,  of  W.  and  T.  Adv.  Amer.  1771 .  174 

47.  Stage  wagon  of  the  sort  used  between  1780  and  1800.  — 

4to.  C.  English,  c.  1798 .  178 

48.  Stage  wagon  passing  through  Philadelphia.  —  4to.  A. 

English,  c.  1807 .  181 

49.  An  early  stage  running  between  Baltimore  and  Washing¬ 

ton. —  12mo.  Lith.  Amer.  c.  1835 .  185 


XXX 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NUMBER  PAGE 

50.  Announcement  of  a  line  of  sailing  packets.  —  Sm.  W.  and 

T.  Adv.  Amer.  1825 .  189 

51.  The  main  cabin  of  a  passenger  sailing  packet.  —  O.  Dr. 

Unsigned.  Amer.  c.  1830 .  193 

52.  Commencement  of  a  journey  on  a  small  sailing  vessel.  — 

8vo.  W.  Amer.  c.  1840 .  197 

53.  A  Conestoga  wagon.  —  Sm.  W.  Amer.  1822 .  201 

54.  A  Conestoga  wagon  approaching  Baltimore.  —  Sm.  C. 

German,  c.  1825 .  203 

55.  Fraunce’s  Tavern,  in  New  York  City. —  12mo.  Lith. 

Amer.  c.  1855 .  209 

56.  The  Notch  House,  a  noted  New  Hampshire  inn.  —  4to. 

S.  Amer.  c.  1840 .  211 

57.  Poem  about  a  New  Hampshire  tavern. —  12mo.  Amer. 

1821 .  213 

58.  The  Raleigh  Tavern.  —  Sm.  W.  Amer.  c.  I860....  215 

59.  A  large  inn,  with  stage-coach,  private  coach  and  chaise. 

—  Section  of  F.  Lith.  Col.  Amer.  c.  1835 .  218 

60.  An  incident  of  pedestrian  travel.  —  8vo.  C.  Amer.  c. 

1815  .  221 

61.  Travellers  in  the  assembly  room  of  a  tavern.  —  8vo.  W. 

and  T.  Scotch.  1836 .  225 

62.  McCann’s  two-penny  piece :  tavern  money  of  the  Revo¬ 

lutionary  period. —  Brass.  Amer.  c.  1770-1785....  227 

63.  Paper  money  issued  bv  a  tavern  keeper.  —  Sm.  C.  Amer. 

1816  . ' .  229 

64.  Fitch’s  first  steamboat;  built  in  1785.  —  Sm.  W.  Amer. 

1857  .  235 

65.  Propulsion  method  of  Fitch’s  first  boat.  —  Sm.  W.  Amer. 

1857  .  238 

66.  Fitch’s  second  boat;  operated  in  1786.  —  8vo.  C.  Amer. 

1786  .  242 

67.  Title  page  of  Rumsey’s  pamphlet  on  steamboats.  —  8vo. 

Amer.  1788  .  245 

68.  Fitch’s  third  boat:  operated  on  the  Delaware  in  1788- 

1790.  — 8vo.  W.  Amer.  c.  1850 .  251 


XXXI 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NUMBER  PAGE 

69.  Contemporary  printed  account  of  Fitch’s  third  boat:  page 

493  of  the  New  York  Magazine.  —  8vo.  Amer.  1790.  255 

70.  Fitch’s  screw  propeller  of  1796  or  1797.  —  Section  of  F. 

Lith.  Amer.  c.  1845 .  259 

71.  Fitch’s  last  steam-engine:  built  in  Kentucky  in  1798. — 

Sm.  F.  Lith.  Amer.  c.  1854 .  263 

72.  Title  page  of  Thornton’s  pamphlet  on  steamboats.  —  8vo. 

Amer.  1818 .  265 

73.  A  covered  keel-boat,  or  barge,  of  the  sort  propelled  by  the 

use  of  poles.  —  Sm.  W.  Amer.  c.  1850 .  269 

74.  The  flatboat;  also  called  Ohio  boat  or  Kentucky  boat.  — 

8vo.  S.  Amer.  c.  1835 .  271 

75.  A  helmsman  on  a  flatboat.  —  O.  Dr.  by  Joshua  Shaw. 

Amer.  c.  1810-1825 .  273 

76.  Travellers  dancing  on  top  of  a  flatboat.  —  4to.  C. 

Amer.  c.  1840 .  275 

77.  Sample  page  from  a  chart-book  used  by  flatboat  travellers. 

—  8vo.  W.  Amer.  1838-1843 .  278 

78.  Text  of  directions  accompanying  the  preceding  chart.  . . .  279 

79.  Group  of  travellers  smoking  and  telling  stories  on  a  flat- 

boat. —  O.  Dr.  by  Joshua  Shaw.  Amer.  c.  1810- 
1825  .  283 

80.  A  broadhorn  on  the  Ohio  River.  —  S.  F.  Col.  Lith. 

Amer.  c.  1840 .  285 

81.  Small  flatboat,  equipped  with  a  sail. —  12mo.  S.  Amer. 

c.  1835 .  289 

82.  Large  flatboat:  also  called  Orleans  boat  or  Mississippi 

boat.  —  Sm.  F.  Lith.  Col.  German,  c.  1856 .  290 

83.  Mississippi  flatboat  with  superstructure  of  lumber.  —  Sm. 

W.  Amer.  c.  1860 .  292 

84.  Arks  of  the  Susquehanna  River.  —  4to.  S.  Amer.  c. 

1835  .  295 

85.  An  Ohio  River  ark.  —  12mo.  S.  Amer.  c.  1835.  . .  .  297 

86.  Rafts  pulled  by  oxen.  —  4to.  S.  English,  c.  1838...  299 

87.  Sailing  barge  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Rivers.  —  Sm. 

F.  Lith.  Col.  German,  c.  1856 .  301 

xxxii 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NUMBER  *  PAGE 

88.  The  batteau.  —  Sm.  W.  Amer.  c.  1830 . .  302 

89.  Boat  used  by  Henry  Lewis  while  painting  the  scenery 

and  traffic  of  the  Mississippi  River.  —  Sm.  F.  Lith. 

Col.  German,  c.  1856 .  305 

90.  A  sunken  tree  in  the  Mississippi.  —  Sm.  F.  Lith.  Col. 

German,  c.  1856 .  307 

91.  Broadside  view  of  the  Baltimore  and  Genessee  Steam 

Packet.  —  L.  F.  O.  Dr.  Unsigned.  Amer.  c.  1801- 
1803  .  311 

92.  Oliver  Evans’  steamboat  of  1804.  —  12mo.  W.  Amer. 

c.  1840  .  313 

93.  John  Stevens’  screw-propeller  steamboat  of  1804.  —  Sm. 

W.  Amer.  Modern .  315 

94.  Stevens’  twin-screw  propeller  steamboat  of  1805.  —  Sm. 

W.  Amer.  Modern .  320 

95.  Ticket  of  a  bridge  and  turnpike  lottery.  —  O.  D. 

Amer.  1812 .  323 

96.  Robert  Fulton’s  steamboat  Clermont,  as  she  appeared  in 

1807.  —  Photograph  of  De  Witt’s  drawing  of  1858. 

Amer .  325 

97.  The  Clermont  as  she  appeared  in  1808.  —  Photograph 

of  De  Witt’s  drawing  of  1858.  Amer .  328 

98.  The  Paragon,  Fulton’s  fourth  boat.  —  8vo.  C.  Amer. 

c.  1812  .  330 

99.  One  of  Fulton’s  early  boats:  possibly  the  Paragon  after 

her  sails  were  removed.  —  8vo.  C.  Proof.  Amer.  c. 

1813  .  333 

100.  The  Chancellor  Livingston ;  Fulton’s  last  boat.  —  L.  F. 

A.  Swedish,  c.  1820 .  335 

101.  The  New  Orleans,  first  steamboat  on  the  Ohio  and 

Mississippi  rivers.  —  Sm.  W.  Amer.  1856 .  337 

102.  View  of  the  harbor  of  Buffalo  in  1815.  —  8vo.  C. 

Amer.  c.  1816 .  343 

103.  The  Walk-in-the-Water ;  first  steamboat  on  Lake  Erie. 

—  Sm.  W.  Amer.  Modern.  A  copy  of  Sm.  W. 

Amer.  1818 . 346 

104.  A  Dandy  Carriage;  earliest  form  of  the  bicycle.  —  8vo. 

C.  English,  c.  1815 .  348 


XXXlll 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NUMBER  *  PAGE 

105.  A  Hudson  River  passenger  barge  of  1825.  —  8vo.  Lith. 

Amer.  c.  1825 .  350 

106.  New  York  steamboat,  passenger  barge,  ferry  boat  and 

ferry  dock  of  1825.  —  L.  F.  O.  Dr.  Dutch.  1825  354 

107.  The  Champlaine,  a  fine  Hudson  River  steamboat  of 

1835.  —  L.  F.  Lith.  Col.  Proof.  Amer.  c.  1835..  356 

108.  The  Swallow,  another  Hudson  River  boat  of  the  fourth 

decade.  —  8vo.  C.  English.  1838 .  358 

109.  Travellers  on  the  deck  of  a  Hudson  River  boat.  —  Sm. 

W.  Amer.  c.  1840 .  360 

1 10.  Man  going  to  bed  on  a  big  steamboat.  —  Sm.  W.  Amer. 

c»  1840  .  364 

111.  Women’s  cabin  of  a  large  steamboat  at  night.  —  Sm.  W. 

Amer.  c.  1855 .  366 

1 12.  The  Longfellow,  a  catamaran  steamboat  of  the  Hudson. 

—  F.  Lith.  Col.  Amer.  c.  1850.... .  368 

113.  The  Holyoke,  an  early  Connecticut  River  steamboat. — 

8vo.  W.  Amer.  c.  1850 .  373 

114.  A  reward-of-merit  card  for  a  school  child.  —  Sm.  card¬ 

board.  W.  and  T.  Amer.  c.  1835 .  376 

115.  The  Milwaukie,  a  pretentious  steamer  of  the  Great 

Lakes  in  1838.  —  L.  F.  A.  Amer.  1838 .  378 

116.  The  Ohio  and  Mississippi  River  steamboat  Belvidere, 

1825.  —  Sm.  C.  German,  c.  1830 .  381 

117.  Types  of  rivermen  in  1825.  —  4to.  C.  English,  c. 

1826  .  384 

118.  The  Ohio  River  steamer  Flora,  1835.  —  O.  Dr.  Amer. 

c.  1835  .  387 

119.  An  Ohio  River  flat-bottomed  steamboat.  —  4to.  Col. 

Lith.  Amer.  c.  1840 .  390 

120.  Typical  Mississippi  River  steamer  of  1837.  —  8vo.  C. 

English.  1838  .  394 

121.  The  Jacob  Strader.  —  Sm.  F.  W.  Amer.  1854 .  397 

122.  Cincinnati’s  river  front  at  the  height  of  the  steamboat 

era.  —  8vo.  W.  Amer.  c.  1850 .  399 

123.  Louisville’s  river  front  during  the  same  period.  —  8vo. 

W.  Amer.  c.  1850 .  401 


xxxiv 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NUMBER  PAGE 

124.  A  Mississippi  steam  packet  loaded  with  cotton.  —  12mo. 

W.  English,  c.  1845 .  402 

125.  Mississippi  River  steamboat  halting  at  night  to  obtain 

wood.  —  Sm.  F.  Lith.  Col.  German,  c.  1856...  406 

126.  Flood  time  along  the  Mississippi.  —  8vo.  Lith.  Eng¬ 

lish.  c.  1835 .  409 

127.  Sample  page  from  Hall’s  List  of  Western  Steamboats. 

—  12mo.  Amer.  1848 .  411 

128.  An  Indian  trader’s  license  issued  by  William  Henry  Har¬ 

rison  when  Governor  of  Indiana  Territory.  —  Sm.  F. 

O.  D.  1803 .  417 

129.  A  dog-sled  of  the  Northwest  Territory.  —  8vo.  C. 

Amer.  c.  1800 .  420 

130.  Typical  page  from  an  Indian  trader’s  account  book. — 

12mo.  O.  Ms.  Amer.  1801-1802 .  423 

131.  A  white  men’s  caravan  travelling  along  the  course  of  a 

river. —  12mo.  Lith.  Amer.  c.  1832 .  430 

132.  Cincinnati  in  1810.  —  8vo.  W.  Amer.  c.  1840....  433 

133.  A  log  cabin  tavern  at  Zanesville,  Ohio.  —  8vo.  W. 

Amer.  c.  1840 .  440 

134.  Melish’s  map  of  Indiana  in  1817.  Showing  territory  al¬ 

ready  acquired  from  Indians.  —  Modern  copy  of  F.  C. 

Amer.  1817 .  443 

135.  License  issued  by  Indiana  permitting  a  citizen  of  the 

state  to  own  and  use  a  wheeled  vehicle.  —  F.  O.  D. 

1817  .  447 

136.  Chicago  as  it  was  in  1820.  —  8vo.  W.  Amer.  1857.  451 

137.  Horseback  travel  into  the  Ohio  Valley.  —  F.  Lith. 

Amer.  c.  1835 .  453 

138.  Travel  into  the  interior  by  wagon  caravan.  —  12mo.  C. 

French,  c.  1830 .  460 

139.  Map  of  Indiana  in  1820.  Showing  purchases  of  land 

from  Indians.  —  Modern  copy  of  F.  C.  Amer.  1820  463 

140.  Appearance  of  the  wilderness  lands  of  the  interior  at  the 

time  of  their  acquirement  from  the  natives.  —  8vo. 

S.  Amer.  c.  1840 .  467 

141.  A  quickly  built  log  cabin  set  up  by  settlers  in  the  interior 

for  temporary  shelter.  —  8vo.  S.  Amer.  c.  1840...  472 


XXXV 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NUMBER  PAGE 

142.  Finley’s  map  of  Indiana  in  1827.  Showing  the  political 

organization  of  lands  already  bought.  —  Modern  copy 
of  F.  C.  Amer.  1827 .  475 

143.  Map  of  the  Michigan  Road  through  Potawatomi  terri¬ 

tory  in  northern  Indiana.  —  Section  of  L.  F.  C. 

Amer.  1835 .  480 

144.  Section  of  Mitchell’s  map  showing  the  conflicting  juris¬ 

dictions  of  the  Chickasaw  and  Choctaw  nations,  Mis¬ 
sissippi  and  Alabama.  —  L.  F.  C.  Amer.  1834.  ...  487 

145.  Another  section  of  same  map,  showing  a  similar  condi¬ 

tion  involving  the  Cherokee  and  Creek  nations,  Ala¬ 
bama  and  Georgia . .  489 

146.  Typical  page  from  a  later  Indian  trader’s  account  book. 

—  12mo.  O.  Ms.  Amer.  1829-1830 .  493 

147.  The  Battle  of  Bad  Axe,  1832.  —  Sm.  F.  Lith.  Col. 

German,  c.  1856 . 497 

148.  Baird’s  description  of  the  character  of  the  interior  settlers  501 

149.  Title  page  of  Baird’s  book  containing  the  foregoing  de¬ 

scription. —  12mo.  Amer.  1834 .  505 

150.  Melish’s  50-sheet  map  of  the  United  States.  —  L.  F.  C. 

Amer.  1820 .  509 

151.  A  heavy  New  England  stage-coach  of  1815-1820. — 

Section  of  8vo.  S.  Amer.  c.  1830 .  518 

152.  Title  page  of  Hewett’s  book  on  United  States  roads. — 

12mo.  Amer.  1825 .  521 

153.  Melish’s  map  of  the  roads  leading  to  Pittsburgh  in  1812. 

—  8vo.  C.  Amer.  c.  1812 .  523 

154.  Melish’s  map  of  the  roads  leading  to  New  York  City  in 

1826.  —  8 vo.  C.  Amer.  1826 .  527 

155.  Captain  Hall’s  picture  of  a  football-shaped  stage-coach. 

—  4to.  C.  English,  c.  1826 .  530 

156.  Stage-coach  entering  Middletown,  Connecticut.  —  L. 

4to.  C.  Amer.  c.  1830 .  533 

157.  Coaches  used  for  city  passenger  traffic  on  Broadway, 

New  York  City,  in  1831.  —  F.  Lith.  Amer.  c.  1855. 

Copy  of  L.  F.  Lith.  Col.  Amer.  c.  1831 .  535 

158.  Ticket  of  a  New  York  City  stage  line.  —  Brass.  Amer. 

c.  1830-1835 .  539 


XXXVI 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NUMBER  PAGE 

159.  Ticket  of  the  Telegraph  Line  of  New  York  City  stages. 

—  Brass.  Amer.  c.  1840-1845 .  540 

160.  A  coach  of  1818  and  a  coach  of  1828.  —  Sm.  F.  C. 

Amer.  1867,  and  Sm.  F.  W.  Amer.  1867.  Late 
impressions  from  originals  engraved  c.  1825  and 
1830  .  541 

161.  Concord  stage  of  the  Phoenix  Line  running  between 

Washington  and  Baltimore.  —  L.  F.  Lith.  Amer. 
c.  1835 .  545 

162.  Flat-topped  coach,  probably  running  between  Philadel- 

ph  ia  and  Baltimore.  —  L.  F.  W.  Amer.  c.  1835- 
1840  .  548 

163.  A  Concord  stage  in  the  Catskill  Mountains.  —  8vo.  C. 

Amer.  c.  1840 .  554 

164.  Way-bill  of  a  New  York  state  stage-coach  line.  —  Sm. 

F.  O.  D.  Amer.  1841 .  557 

165.  A  stage-coach  changing  teams  at  a  relay  station.  —  4to. 

W.  Amer.  c.  .1855 .  560 

166.  Left  behind  by  the  stage.  —  8vo.  M.  Amer.  c. 

1840  .  561 

167.  A  stage-coach  mired  on  a  mud  road.  —  Section  of  F. 

Col.  Lith.  Amer.  c.  1845-1850 .  565 

168.  A  stage-coach  struck  by  a  railway  train.  —  Sm.  F.  O. 

Dr.  Amer.  Unsigned,  c.  1845 .  567 

169.  Stages  before  the  Tontine  Hotel,  New  Haven.  —  F.  C. 

Amer.  c.  1845 .  569 

170.  Railway  and  stage-coach  route  to  the  Ohio  valley. — 

8 vo.  W.  and  T.  Adv.  Amer.  1852 .  571 

171.  Tallmadge’s  mail  stage  lines  through  Ohio  and  Ken¬ 

tucky. —  12mo.  W.  and  T.  Adv.  Amer.  1837..  573 

172.  Announcement  of  a  ferry  proprietor  on  the  Vincennes- 

St.  Louis  stage  road.  —  Sm.  F.  B.  Amer.  1823  581 

173.  Announcement  of  a  tavern  landlord  of  Vincennes,  Indi¬ 

ana. —  Sm.  F.  B.  Amer.  1825 .  58+ 

174.  A  notice  to  travellers  by  a  ferry  owner  and  storekeeper 

of  Vincennes,  Indiana.  —  F.  B.  Amer.  1825 .  585 

175.  Title  to  Johnson’s  Reports  on  the  Sunday  Mail  Ques¬ 

tion.  —  L.  F.  B.  Amer.  1829 .  588 

xxxvii 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NUMBER  PAGE 

176.  Mail  stage  rules  of  a  company  running  coaches  between 

Vincennes  and  St.  Louis.  —  Sm.  F.  B.  Amer.  c. 

1826  .  589 

177.  Way-bill  of  a  stage-coach  line  on  the  same  road. — 

O.  D.  Amer.  c.  1826 .  591 

178.  Printed  statement  showing  cost  of  stage-coach  travel 

between  principal  towns. —  12mo.  Amer.  1848...  595 

179.  A  canal  packet.  The  type  of  canal  boat  used  exclusively 

for  passenger  traffic.  —  Sm.  W.  Amer.  c.  1830..  602 

180.  Title  page  to  the  first  American  book  on  the  subject  of 

canals.  —  4to.  1795 .  603 

181.  Digging  a  deep  cut  on  the  Erie  Canal.  —  4to.  Lith. 

Amer.  1825 .  606 

182.  First  boat  built  for  the  Erie  Canal.  —  8vo.  W.  and  T. 

Amer.  1867 .  607 

183.  New  York  City’s  ticket  of  invitation  to  the  Erie  Canal 

Celebration.  —  Sm.  C.  Amer.  1825 .  610 

184.  Private  token  struck  in  celebration  of  the  digging  of  the 

Erie  Canal.  —  Brass.  Amer.  1823 .  615 

185.  Entrance  of  the  Erie  Canal  into  the  Hudson  River  at 

Albany.  —  8vo.  C.  Amer.  c.  1825 .  623 

186.  Jumping  aboard  a  canal  packet  from  a  bridge.  —  Sm. 

W.  Amer.  1852 .  626 

187.  Packets  rounding  a  curve  on  the  Erie  Canal. —  12mo. 

C.  Amer.  c.  1832 .  629 

188.  Passenger  boat  approaching  a  lock  on  the  Erie  Canal.  — 

4to.  Lith.  Amer.  1825 .  632 

189.  Canal  packet  passing  through  a  gorge  at  night.  —  4to. 

S.  Amer.  c.  1838 .  635 

190.  Going  to  bed  on  an  Erie  Canal  packet.  —  Sm.  W. 

Amer.  1852 .  638 

191.  An  Erie  packet  going  through  a  deep  cut.  —  4to.  Lith. 

Amer.  1825 .  641 

192.  Passengers  on  a  boat  nearing  Lockport,  Erie  Canal. — 

8vo.  C.  Amer.  c.  1835 .  644 

193.  Western  end  of  the  Erie  Canal.  —  4to.  C.  English. 

c.  1826 .  645 

xxxviii 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NUMBER  PAGE 

194.  A  family  boat  on  the  Erie  Canal.  —  Sm.  W.  Amer. 

1852  .  649 

195.  Interior  view  of  an  Erie  Canal  family  boat.  —  Sm.  W. 

Amer.  1852 .  652 

196.  An  inclined  plane  on  the  Morris  Canal,  in  New  Jersey. 

—  Sm.  W.  Amer.  c.  1840 .  658 

197.  Boat  descending  a  Morris  Canal  inclined  plane  on  its 

cradle. —  12mo.  Lith.  Amer.  c.  1835 .  662 

198.  Title  page  to  Alspach’s  Guide  for  the  Schuylkill  Canal. 

—  12mo.  Amer.  1827 .  665 

199.  Announcement  preceding  the  running  of  a  special  canal 

boat.  —  Sm.  W.  and  T.  Adv.  Amer.  c.  1832...  669 

200.  The  canal  basin  at  Providence,  Rhode  Island.  —  8vo. 

S.  Amer.  c.  1840 .  671 

201.  Bill-head  of  the  Merchants’  Line  on  the  Delaware  and 

Raritan  Canal.  —  Sm.  F.  W.  and  T.  Amer.  1843  679 

202.  A  packet  boat  on  the  Miami  Canal  in  Ohio.  —  8vo. 

C.  Amer.  c.  1845 .  682 

203.  Canal  and  river  scene  at  North  Bend,  Ohio.  —  8vo. 

C.  Amer.  c.  1845 .  683 

204.  Printed  schedule  and  rates  of  fare  on  the  Illinois  and 

Michigan  Canal.  —  Sm.  Adv.  Amer.  1851 .  686 

205.  Cartoon  on  the  perils  of  canal  travel.  —  Section  of  F. 

Lith.  Amer.  1844 .  688 

206.  A  cartoon  on  the  bunk  system  of  sleeping  accommoda¬ 

tions  for  travellers.  —  Sm.  W.  Amer.  c.  1845.  . .  .  693 

207.  Map  of  Pittsburgh  just  after  it  was  connected  with 

Philadelphia  by  a  canal  and  railway  route.  —  8vo.  C. 

Amer.  1834 .  695 

208.  View  of  Pittsburgh  and  the  Ohio  River  at  the  height 

of  the  water  travel  period.  —  8vo.  S.  Amer.  c. 

1840  .  699 

209.  The  great  Pittsburgh  Fire  of  1845. — F.  Lith.  Col. 

Amer.  1845 .  703 

210.  Two  ancestors  of  the  modern  automobile.  —  Gordon’s 

car  12mo.  W.  Amer.  1829.  Gurney’s  car  12mo. 

W.  Amer.  c.  1848 .  711 


XXXIX 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NUMBER  PAGE 

211.  A  coal  wagon  on  a  primitive  English  railway.  —  8vo. 

C.  English,  c.  1800 .  721 

212.  A  Welch  stone  quarry  railway  of  1808.  —  8vo.  C. 

English.  1808... .  723 

213.  The  American  Traveller  Broadside.  Probably  the  first 

picture  of  a  railway  printed  in  America.  —  L.  F. 

W.  andT.  1826 .  725 

214.  An  early  printed  description  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 

railway.  —  Sm.  W.  and  T.  Amer.  c.  1830 .  728 

215.  The  New  York  American’s  account  of  the  English  loco¬ 

motive  tests  of  October,  1829.  —  L.  F.,  March  11, 

1830  .  731 

216.  Title  page  to  Earle’s  Treatise  on  Railroads.  —  8vo. 

Amer.  1830 .  733 

217.  Heading  and  title  to  Volume  I,  Number  I,  of  the  Rail¬ 

road  Journal.  —  F.  W.  and  T.  January  2,  1832..  737 

218.  A  description  of  the  new  apparatus  for  travelling  on 

railroads.  —  8vo.  W.  and  T.  Amer.  c.  1834....  745 

219.  The  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  March.  —  F.  C. 

Amer.,  July  4,  1828 .  747 

220.  Rails  and  stone  ties  of  the  Camden  and  Amboy  railroad 

in  1831,  and  of  the  Pennsylvania  Portage  railway  in 
1832.  —  Sm.  W.  Amer.  Modern .  751 

221.  John  Stevens’  T  rail  of  1830.  —  Sm.  W.  Amer. 

Modern  .  755 

222.  Early  American  methods  of  railway  track  building.  — 

Sm.  F.  C.  Amer.  1832 .  757 

223.  Manner  of  building  part  of  the  roadbed  and  track  of  the 

Baltimore  and  Ohio  railroad  in  1833.  —  Sm.  W. 

Amer.  Modern .  760 

224.  Roadbed  and  track  structure  of  the  Boston  and  Lowell 

railroad  in  1834-1835.  —  Sm.  W.  English.  1838..  763 

225.  Track  of  the  Albany  and  Schenectady  railway,  1837.  — 

Sm.  W.  Amer.  Modern .  765 

226.  First  rail  rolled  in  the  United  States:  1844.  —  Sm. 

W.  Amer.  Modern .  767 

227.  An  early  horse-drawn  railway  passenger  car  of  the  stage¬ 

coach  type. —  12mo.  W.  Amer.  c.  1830 .  771 

xl 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NUMBER  PAGE 

228.  Speed  test  between  a  horse  and  the  locomotive  Tom 

Thumb,  in  1830.  — F.  W.  Amer.  1871  .  774 

229.  Two  early  railroad  cars  of  the  stage-coach  form  drawn 

by  a  locomotive. —  12mo.  W.  Amer.  c.  1831....  776 

230.  A  sailing  car  on  the  Charleston  and  Hamburg  road  in 

1829.  — 8vo.  W.  Amer.  1871  .  779 

231.  Passenger  car  propelled  by  a  horse  running  on  an  endless 

platform.  Tried  on  the  Charleston  and  Hamburg 
road  in  1829.  — 8vo.  W.  Amer.  1871 .  784 

232.  Scene  on  the  Charleston  and  Hamburg  railway.  —  Sm. 

W.  Amer.  c.  1830 . 788 

233.  First  public  trip  of  a  train  on  the  Charleston  and  Ham¬ 

burg  road. —  F.  W.  Amer.  1871 .  790 

234.  The  cotton-bale  and  brass-band  train  on  the  Charleston 

and  Hamburg  line.  —  F.  W.  Amer.  1871 .  793 

235.  First  train  of  the  Mohawk  and  Hudson  railway. 

Brown’s  silhouette  of  August  9,  1831.  —  F.  Lith. 

Amer.  c.  1855 .  801 

236.  Engraving  intended  to  represent  a  scene  on  the  Mohawk 

and  Hudson  railroad.  —  8vo.  C.  Amer.  c.  1838..  804 

237.  View  of  a  railway  train  drawn  in  part  from  imagination 

and  hearsay.  —  8vo.  W.  Amer.  c.  1832 .  807 

238.  First  passenger  cars  and  station  of  the  Philadelphia, 

Germantown  and  Norristown  railroad:  1831  or 
1832.  —  F.  Lith.  Amer.  c.  1832 .  809 

239.  Carefully  drawn  sketch,  by  an  amateur,  showing  Old 

Ironsides  and  the  passenger  car  depicted  in  the  preced¬ 
ing. —  Sm.  W.  Amer.  c.  1832 .  813 

240.  Another  print  of  Old  Ironsides,  pulling  passenger  cars 

of  two  different  types.  —  8vo.  W.  Amer.  c.  1832  820 

241.  Scene  showing  a  horse-drawn  railway  car  of  the  stage¬ 

coach  type  in  a  Philadelphia  street.  — -  8vo.  C.  Amer. 
c.  1833-1834 .  823 

242.  A  train  of  the  Pioneer  Fast  Line  passing  through  a 

Pennsylvania  town. —  12mo.  W.  Amer.  c.  1842..  828 

243.  A  train  on  the  West  Chester  railroad,  Pennsylvania.  — 

8vo.  M.  Amer.  c.  1838-1840 .  831 

xli 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NUMBER  PAGE 

244.  Railway  inclined  plane  and  small  passenger  car  at 

Mauch  Chunk,  Pennsylvania.  —  8vo.  Lith.  Amer. 
c.  1855 .  833 

245.  First  car  on  the  New  York  and  Harlem  railway,  or  one 

nearly  identical  with  it.  —  12mo.  W.  Amer.  c. 

1832  .  839 

246.  A  later  style  of  passenger  car  on  the  New  York  and 

Harlem  road.  —  Section  of  8vo.  S.  Amer.  c.  1838  844 

247.  Cartoon  suggesting  the  unevenness  of  the  track  on  the 

Harlem  railroad.  —  Sm.  W.  Amer.  c.  1840-1842.  849 

248.  Another  cartoon  showing  a  train  on  the  Harlem  road 

entering  a  tunnel.  —  Sm.  W.  Amer.  c.  1840-1842  853 

249.  Later  picture  of  a  train  on  the  Harlem  line. —  12mo. 

W.  Amer.  c.  1848 .  858 

250.  Scene  on  the  Norwich  and  Worcester  railway.  —  4to. 

Lith.  Amer.  c.  1845 .  861 

251.  First  train  on  the  Erie  Railroad;  1837.  —  Modern  copy 

of  12mo.  S.  Amer.  1837 .  863 

252.  The  Rogers  machine  works  as  they  appeared  in  1832. 

—  4to.  S.  Amer.  1886.  The  firm’s  engraving  of 
an  early  sketch .  866 

253.  The  Baldwin  locomotive  works  and  early  examples  of 

its  product.  —  F.  M.  Amer.  c.  1840 .  869 

254.  The  Baltimore  and  Ohio  railway  locomotive  York: 

built  in  1831-1832.  —  Sm.  W.  Amer.  1855....  873 

255.  The  Sandusky;  first  locomotive  in  Ohio.  —  Sm.  W. 

Amer.  1886.  The  builders’  engraving,  from  their 
early  drawing . 875 

256.  A  locomotive  of  the  York  type.  Used  on  the  Baltimore 

and  Washington  railway  in  1837.  —  8vo.  C.  Eng¬ 
lish.  1838 .  877 

257.  The  engine  Hackensack.  —  F.  Photograph.  Amer.  c. 

1865  .  879 

258.  The  locomotive  Victory.  —  L.  F.  Lith.  Col.  Amer. 

c.  1850 .  881 

259.  An  Erie  road  engine  of  about  1850.  —  Sm.  4to.  W. 

Amer.  1851 .  887 

260.  The  locomotive  Volcano.  —  L.  F.  Lith.  Col. 

Amer.  c.  1855 . 890 

xlii 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NUMBER  PAGE 

261.  Styles  of  American  rails  which  superseded  the  flat  bars 

originally  laid  on  a  majority  of  the  early  roads.  — 

F.  S.  English,  c.  1855 .  893 

262.  Timber  bridge  construction  employed  by  many  pioneer 

American  railways.  —  8vo.  S.  Amer.  c.  1845....  896 

263.  A  lookout  pole.  —  Sm.  W.  Amer.  c.  1840 .  899 

264.  Delivery  envelope  used  for  telegrams  sent  by  the  first 

Morse  telegraph  line.  —  Buff  paper.  Sm.  W. 

Amer.  c.  1850 .  901 

265.  Two-story  railway  passenger  car  with  cupola  and  flag. 

—  12mo.  W.  Amer.  c.  1838 .  903 

266.  A  railway  train  whose  locomotive  is  equipped  with 

splint-brooms  for  sweeping  the  rails.  —  8vo.  W. 

Amer.  c.  1845 .  905 

267.  Two  trains  on  the  outskirts  of  Boston.  —  8vo.  S. 

Amer.  c.  1840 .  909 

268.  Style  of  passenger  car  in  general  use  from  about  1840 

to  1850. —  12mo.  W.  Amer.  c.  1845 .  916 

269.  A  train  on  the  Hudson  River  road.  —  Sm.  F.  O. 

Dr.  Amer.  c.  1851.  Signature,  Philip  Doane.  .  .  .  917 

270.  An  invention  intended  to  protect  railway  travellers 

from  locomotive  smoke  and  sparks.  —  Sm.  W. 

Amer.  1847 .  923 

271.  Passenger  train  of  about  1850-1855,  behind  an  engine 

of  a  type  used  about  1842-1845.  —  8vo.  W.  Amer. 
c.  1855 .  925 

272.  Two  passenger  trains  of  the  same  period,  in  which  all 

equipment  is  of  the  best  and  latest  style.  —  L.  F. 

Col.  Lith.  Amer.  c.  1855 .  930 

273.  Interior  view  of  a  passenger  car  of  the  best  sort.  — 

8vo.  W.  English.  1852 .  932 

274.  A  glimpse  through  a  car  window.  —  Sm.  W.  Amer. 

1852  .  934 

275.  Night  scene  in  a  railway  passenger  car.  —  Sm.  W. 

Amer.  1858 .  937 

276.  Traveller’s  ticket  from  New  York  City  to  Buffalo  by 

steamboat,  canal  and  railway.  —  O.  D.  W.  and  T. 

Amer.  1831 .  940 

xliii 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NUMBER  PAGE 

277.  First  ticket  of  the  New  York  and  Harlem  railroad. — 

Copper-bronze.  Die-cut.  Amer.  1832 .  944 

278.  A  later  metallic  ticket  of  the  New  York  and  Harlem 

road.  Good  for  passage  northward  to  Yorkville. — 
Pewter.  Amer.  c.  1840 .  945 

279.  Pass  issued  by  an  early  Pennsylvania  railway.  —  O.  D. 

Cardboard.  T.  Amer.  c.  1835-1840 .  948 

280.  Season  ticket  on  the  Boston  and  Worcester  railroad. 

—  O.  D.  Blue  glazed  cardboard.  T.  Amer.  1857.  950 

281.  A  railway  conductor’s  business  card.  —  Rubber.  Amer. 

c.  1860 .  955 

282.  Season  time-tables  of  the  Philadelphia,  Germantown  and 

Norristown  railway.  —  Sm.  cardboard.  T.  Amer. 

1847-1848  .  957 

283.  Time-table  of  the  New  York  and  Harlem  road.  —  Sm. 

B.  T.  Amer.  1847 .  959 

284.  Printed  announcement  by  a  firm  of  forwarding  agents 

and  stage-coach  proprietors  soliciting  business  to  the 
South.  —  8  vo.  Adv.  Amer.  1840 .  961 

285.  Printed  announcement  of  a  line  of  steamboats  running 

to  the  South  in  competition  with  the  preceding.  — 

8vo.  Adv.  Amer.  1840 .  967 

286.  Printed  announcement  of  a  stage-coach  and  steamboat 

line  operating  in  the  South.  —  8vo.  Adv.  Amer. 

1840  . « .  971 

287.  Time  schedule  and  announcement  of  the  Central  Rail¬ 

road  of  Georgia. —  12mo.  Adv.  Amer.  1852....  979 

288.  Schedule  and  announcement  of  Leech’s  Line  between 

Philadelphia  and  Pittsburgh.  —  12mo.  Adv.  Amer. 

1851  .  981 

289.  Time-table  of  the  Hudson  River  road.  —  F.  B.  on  blue 

paper.  Amer.  1852 .  983 

290.  Announcement  of  Beers’  Temperance  Hotel,  Washing¬ 

ton. —  Adv.  Amer.  1851 .  985 

291.  View  of  lower  Manhattan  Island,  New  York  City. — 

8vo.  S.  Amer.  1850 .  989 

292.  First  page  of  the  printed  address  urging  the  building  of 

the  Hudson  River  road.  —  8vo.  Amer.  1842 .  993 

xliv 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NUMBER  PAGE 

293.  Pulling  a  passenger  car  of  the  New  Haven  road  through 

New  York  City  by  horses.  —  4to.  W.  English. 

1852  .  997 

294.  A  similar  scene  during  the  winter  season.  —  8vo.  W. 

Amer.  1857  .  1000 

295.  Assembling  a  north-bound  train  in  New  York  City  at 

the  spot  where  the  engine  was  attached.  —  8vo.  W. 

Amer.  1857  .  1002 

296.  A  New  York  City  ferry  boat.  —  Sm.  F.  W.  Amer. 

c.  1855  .  1004 

297.  First  printed  pictorial  suggestion  for  an  elevated  railroad 

in  New  York  City. —  12mo.  W.  Amer.  c.  1842..  1010 

298.  A  cartoonist’s  idea  of  an  elevated  railroad  in  Broadway, 

New  York  City.  —  Sm.  W.  Amer.  c.  1842 .  1013 

299.  Appearance  of  the  first  actual  elevated  railway  in  New 

York  City.  —  Sm.  W.  Amer.  Modern .  1015 

300.  An  omnibus  for  city  passenger  traffic.  —  Sm.  F.  W. 

Amer.  c.  1855-1860 .  1017 

301.  An  early  New  Orleans  street-car.  —  4to.  W.  Amer. 

1855  .  1019 

302.  Street-car  designed  by  Alexander  Easton  about  1858.  — 

8vo.  Lith.  Amer.  1859.. .  1022 

303.  Two  early  street-cars  in  a  Boston  thoroughfare.  —  4to. 

W.  Amer.  1856 .  1025 

304.  An  omnibus  on  sled-runners,  used  in  Boston  as  substitute 

for  a  winter  street-car.  —  4to.  W.  Amer.  c.  1857.  1029 

305.  Another  street-car  designed  by  Alexander  Easton  about 

1858.  —  8vo.  Lith.  Amer.  1859 .  1032 

306.  Explosion  of  the  steamboat  Helen  McGregor.  —  12mo. 

W.  Amer.  c.  1842 .  1038 

307.  Explosion  of  the  steamboat  Brilliant.  —  Sm.  F.  Lith. 

Col.  German,  c.  1856 .  1040 

308.  Wreck  of  the  steamboat  Swallow.  —  F.  Lith.  Amer. 

1845  .  1043 

309.  Burning  of  the  steamboat  Lexington.  —  L.  F.  Lith. 

Col.  Amer.  1840 .  1046 

310.  Concussion  of  two  railway  trains. —  12mo.  W.  Amer. 

c.  1842 .  1048 

xlv 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NUMBER  PAGE 

311.  Accident  to  a  railroad  train  in  the  Alleghany  Mountains. 

—  12mo.  Col.  Lith.  English.  1853 .  1049 

312.  Collapse  of  an  incomplete  timber  railroad  bridge. — 

8vo.  W.  Amer.  c.  1856 .  1053 

313.  Accident  on  the  Camden  and  Amboy  railroad.  One  of 

the  last  of  the  pictorial  Catastrophe  Broadsides.  —  F. 

Lith.  Amer.  1855 .  1055 

314.  Collapse  of  a  New  York  Central  railroad  bridge. — 

8vo.  W.  Amer.  1858 .  1058 

315.  Cartoon  following  the  introduction  of  locomotives  on 

the  Harlem  railroad.  —  12mo.  W.  Amer.  1839..  1064 

316.  Cartoon  indicating  the  unconcern  with  which  destruc¬ 

tion  of  life  by  locomotives  was  at  first  viewed.  — 

12mo.  W.  Amer.  c.  1840 .  1066 

317.  Cartoon  suggesting  the  need  of  reducing  the  number  of 

railway  collisions.  —  Sm.  W.  Amer.  c.  1850....  1069 

318.  A  cartoon  proposing  the  reduction  of  collisions  by  tying 

railroad  directors  on  the  locomotives.  —  Sm.  4to.  W. 

Amer.  c.  1858 .  1073 

319.  An  early  Kentucky  railroad  train.  —  Sm.  C.  Amer. 

,  1837  .  1076 

320.  Louisville’s  stock  certificate  showing  the  city’s  part  own¬ 

ership  of  an  early  railway.  —  F.  O.  D.  1835 .  1078 

321.  Picture  of  a  railway  train  used  on  the  notes  of  an  early 

Michigan  bank.  —  Sm.  C.  Amer.  1833 .  1081 

322.  A  train  on  the  Erie  and  Kalamazoo  railroad.  —  12mo. 

W.  Amer.  c.  1865.  Copy  of  a  Sm.  F.  Lith.  c. 

1837  .  1086 

323.  Printed  announcement  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  rail¬ 

road  and  a  stage-coach  company.  —  Sm.  Adv.  Amer. 

1853  .  1089 

324.  Cleveland’s  railway  station  in  1854.  —  12mo.  Col. 

Lith.  Amer.  1854 . : .  1093 

325.  Invitation  ticket  to  the  reception  ball  of  the  Atlantic  and 

Great  Western  Railway.  —  Cardboard.  C.  Amer. 

1865  . 1098 

326.  Cincinnati’s  railroad  celebration  of  1857.  —  Sm.  F.  W. 

Amer.  1857  .  1103 

xlvi 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NUMBER  PAGE 

327.  Script  issued  by  the  Burnet  House,  of  Cincinnati.  — 

O.  D.  Lith.  Amer.  c.  1861 .  1106 

328.  A  view  of  Detroit’s  water  front. and  railroad  terminals. 

—  8vo.  S.  German,  c.  1865 .  1107 

329.  Published  table  showing  the  time  consumed  by  a  jour¬ 

ney  from  New  York  City  to  Chicago  in  1848. — 

12mo.  Amer.  1848 .  1109 

330.  A  Chicago  railroad  station  and  passenger  train.  —  4to. 

W.  Amer.  1857 .  1114 

331.  A  bird’s-eye  view  of  Chicago.  —  8vo.  S.  German. 

c.  1865 .  1117 

332.  Announcement  by  six  railroads  that  travel  between  New 

York  City  and  St.  Louis  by  rail  had  become  possible.  — 

12mo.  W.  and  T.  Adv.  Amer.  1857 . .  1121 

333.  A  view  of  the  city  of  St.  Louis.  —  Sm.  F.  Lith.  ColM 

German,  c.  1856 .  1127 

334.  Mouth  of  the  Missouri  River,  with  flatboats  and  steam¬ 

boats. —  Sm.  F.  Lith.  Col.  German,  c.  1856....  1131 

335.  A  large  Indian  canoe  of  the  West. —  12mo.  Lith. 

Amer.  c.  1835 .  1134 

336.  Skin  ferry  boats  of  the  Flathead  and  other  Indians.  — 

8vo.  Col.  Lith.  Amer.  c.  1855 . . .  1138 

337.  A  small  steamboat  of  the  western  rivers.  —  4to.  Lith. 

Amer.  c.  1857 .  1142 

338.  Camp  of  an  overland  military  expedition  in  the  West.  — 

Sm.  F.  Lith.  Col.  German,  c.  1856 .  1145 

339.  An  Indian  village  of  the  West.  —  Sm.  F.  Lith.  Col. 

German.  c.  1856 .  1148 

340.  Yankton  Sioux  watching  a  steamboat  on  the  Missouri 

River.  —  F.  W.  German,  c.  1855 . 1151 

341.  Fort  Benton,  on  the  upper  Missouri.  —  8vo.  Col. 

Lith.  Amer.  c.  1861 .  1155 

342.  Native  horseman  of  the  plains.  —  8vo.  S.  Amer.  c. 

1845  .  1163 

343.  An  outpost  bull  bison  on  guard.  —  8vo.  S.  Amer.  c. 

1858  . .  1166 

344.  Overland  emigrants  passing  through  an  Indian  village. 

—  8  vo.  W.  Amer.  c.  1852 .  1171 

xlvii 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NUMBER  PAGE 

345.  A  wagon  train  attacked  by  Indians.  —  F.  S.  Amer.  c. 

1855  .  1174 

346.  Disaster  to  a  wagon  bound  for  Pike’s  Peak.  —  F.  W. 

Amer.  c.  1858 .  1177 

347.  Overland  emigrants’  wagons  passing  Fort  Laramie.  — 

8vo.  Lith.  Amer.  c.  1850 .  1179 

348.  Wagon  train  approaching  Fort  Mohave.  —  F.  Lith. 

Amer.  c.  1855 .  1183 

349.  Independence,  Missouri,  during  the  period  of  overland 

travel  by  wagons.  —  Sm.  F.  S.  German,  c.  1853  1191 

350.  View  of  Kansas  City  in  its  earliest  days.  —  4to.  S. 

Amer.  c.  1850 .  1193 

351.  A  view  of  Kansas  City  in  1872.  —  Sm.  W.  Amer. 

1872  .  1196 

352.  A  wind  wagon  of  the  prairies.  —  8vo.  W.  Amer.  c. 

1856  .  1198 

/ 

353.  A  prairie  fire.  —  Sm.  F.  Lith.  Col.  German,  c.  1856  1201 

354.  Manner  of  conveying  a  wagon  across  a  western  river  too 

deep  to  be  forded.  —  8vo.  Lith.  Amer.  c.  1858..  1203 

355.  A  wagon  train  descending  a  hill.  —  8vo.  Lith.  Amer. 

c.  1855  .  1207 

356.  Long  wagon  train  making  its  way  through  a  valley.  — 

8  vo.  Lith.  Amer.  c.  1855 .  1210 

357.  Wagon  train  in  the  Black  Hills.  —  12mo.  Lith.  Col. 

Amer.  1876  .  1214 

358.  Taking  a  wagon  through  a  Wyoming  Canon. —  12mo. 

Lith.  Col.  Amer.  1876 .  1217 

359.  A  horse-litter  of  the  West.  —  12mo.  W.  Amer.  1859.  1220 

360.  St.  Paul  in  its  early  years.  —  Sm.  F.  Lith.  Amer.  c. 

1858  .  1223 

361.  The  Rubber  Stamp  Map  of  the  Northwest.  —  L.  F. 

Lith.  Amer.  1864 .  1225 

362.  Dog-sled  of  the  far  West.  —  F.  W.  German.  1862.. .  1228 

363.  Announcement  of  a  stage-coach  company  of  the  North¬ 

west. —  8vo.  Adv.  Amer.  1872 .  1233 

xlviii 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NUMBER  PAGE 

364  Nauvoo,  Illinois,  as  it  appeared  before  its  evacuation 
by  the  Mormons.  —  Sm.  F.  Lith.  Col.  German,  c. 

1856  .  1239 

365.  Ruins  of  the  Mormon  Temple  at  Nauvoo.  —  F.  S. 

English.  1855 .  1241 

366.  A  Mormon  wagon  train  on  the  Oregon  trail  crossing  the 

Missouri  at  Council  Bluffs  in  1853.  —  F.  S.  English. 

1855  .  1245 

367.  Mormon  wagon  train  crossing  the  Loup  Fork  ferry  on 

the  Oregon  trail.  —  F.  S.  English.  1855 .  1249 

358.  An  early  view  of  a  street  in  Salt  Lake  City.  —  8vo. 

Lith.  Amer.  c.  1852 .  1251 

369.  A  pack-train  caravan  near  Huerfano  Butte,  New  Mex¬ 

ico. —  4to.  S.  Amer.  c.  1860 .  1255 

370.  Wagons  halted  near  the  Red  River.  —  8vo.  S.  Ger¬ 

man.  c.  1853 .  1259 

371.  Caravan  on  the  Santa  Fe  trail,  approaching  the  city  of 

Santa  Fe.  —  8vo.  S.  Amer.  c.  1836 .  1262 

372.  A  steamboat  in  Mohave  Canon.  —  Sm.  F.  S.  Amer. 

c.  1865  .  1265 

373.  Title  page  of  Sherwood’s  Pocket  Guide  to  California.  — 

8vo.  Amer.  1849 .  1273 

374.  A  scene  in  St.  Louis  during  the  overland  migrations.  — 

8vo.  W.  Amer.  c.  1856  .  1275 

375.  Scene  of  the  tragedy  at  Donner  Lake  in  1846-1847. — 

12mo.  W.  Amer.  1870.  From  a  photograph  taken 
about  fifteen  years  after  the  event .  1277 

376.  Family  crossing  the  plains  on  the  way  to  California.  — - 

F.  W.  Amer.  1852 .  1279 

377.  Sutter’s  Fort  as  it  appeared  in  1849.  —  8vo.  Lith. 

Amer.  c.  1852 .  1281 

378.  Sacramento,  California,  as  it  appeared  in  1850.  —  Sm. 

F.  S.  German,  c.  1856 .  1283 

379.  Wagons  of  the  gold  seekers  moving  between  Sacramento 

and  the  mines.  —  8vo.  Lith.  Amer.  c.  1852 .  1285 

380.  A  miner  as  he  appeared  at  work.  —  8vo.  W.  Amer. 

1852  .  1289 

xlix 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NUMBER  PAGE 

381.  Interior  view  of  a  California  miner’s  cabin.  —  4to.  W. 

Amer.  c.  1855 .  1293 

382.  The  Fremont  Hotel  in  San  Francisco.  —  4to.  W.  Ger¬ 

man.  1850  .  1295 

383.  Views  of  San  Francisco  in  1848  and  1849.  —  Each 

12mo.  Col.  Lith.  Amer.  c.  1853 .  1300 

384.  Announcement  of  a  stage-coach  line  running  between 

San  Antonio,  Texas,  and  San  Diego,  California.  — 

8vo.  Adv.  Amer.  1858 .  1303 

385.  San  Diego  in  1849.  —  8vo.  Lith.  Amer.  c.  1850..  1307 

386.  Travelling  through  Texas  by  pack-train. — 8vo.  Lith. 

Amer.  c.  1858 . 1309 

387.  Ferry  across  the  Pecos  River,  in  Texas.  —  8vo.  Lith. 

Amer.  c.  1858 .  1311 

388.  A  small  overland  stage  wagon  of  the  period  before 

1858.  — 8vo.  W.  Amer.  1881.. .  1313 

389.  Announcement  of  the  Overland  Mail  Company.  —  4to. 

Adv.  Amer.  1858 .  1315 

390.  Coach  of  the  Overland  Mail  Company  ready  to  depart 

from  San  Francisco.  —  Sm.  F.  W.  Amer.  1858...  1317 

391.  Scene  during  the  surveys  attending  the  selection  of  a 

route  for  the  first  transcontinental  railway.  — 8vo. 

Lith.  Amer.  c.  1863 .  1323 

392.  View  of  Omaha  just  after  the  completion  of  the  first 

Pacific  railroad.  —  Sm.  W.  Amer.  1872 .  1326 

393.  A  construction  train  on  the  Central  Pacific  road.  — 

12mo.  W.  Amer.  1870 . 1331 

394.  A  construction  train  on  the  Union  Pacific  road.  —  8vo. 

W.  Amer.  1870 .  1334 

395.  Meeting  of  the  rails  and  engines  at  Promontory  Point, 

Utah,  in  1869. —  12mo.  W.  Amer.  1870 .  1339 

396.  A  transcontinental  train  halted  by  snowdrifts  on  the 

prairies.  —  Section  of  F.  Lith.  Amer.  c.  1872 .  1343 

397.  Interior  view  of  a  snow-shed  on  the  first  Pacific  rail¬ 

way. —  12mo.  W.  Amer.  1870 .  1347 

398.  A  transcontinental  train  in  the  Sierra  Nevada  Moun¬ 

tains. —  L.  F.  W.  Amer.  1870 .  1350 

1 


LIST  OF  MAPS 


NUMBER  PAGE 

399.  Scene  in  a  Chicago  railway  station  after  the  continent  was 
spanned  by  steam  transportation.  —  L.  F.  W.  Amer. 

1870  .  1354 

4-00.  Charles  Hamilton,  American  aviator,  flying  from  New 
York  City  to  Philadelphia  on  the  first  aeroplane  flight 
made  in  accordance  with  an  announced  schedule.  — 
Photograph,  June  13,  1910 . 1367 


List  of  Maps 

J 

t.  Folding  map  of  important  early  overland  routes  made  or 
used  by  the  pioneers  east  of  the  Mississippi  River  dur¬ 
ing  the  period  between  1750  and  1820.  —  Drawn  for 
this  work .  152 

2.  Folding  map  of  the  principal  overland  caravan  routes 
used  during  the  Caucasian  penetration  of  the  region 
west  of  the  Mississippi  River  during  the  period  be¬ 
tween  1843  and  1868.  The  roads  listed  in  Appendix  L 
may  be  traced  on  this  chart,  without  regard  for  the  sys¬ 
tem  of  numeration  embodied  in  the  map.  —  A  photo¬ 
graph  of  Ravenstein’s  map,  contained  in  Burton’s  edi¬ 
tion  of  Marcy’s  “The  Prairie  Traveller.”  Sm.  F. 

Lith.  English.  1863  .  1128 


li 


A  HISTORY  OF 
TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


A  HISTORY  OF 
TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


CHAPTER  I 

A  SUMMARY  OF  THE  GENERAL  FEATURES  OF  THE  SUBJECT 
AND  AN  INDICATION  OF  THE  METHODS  AND  PURPOSES 
HEREAFTER  FOLLOWED  IN  ITS  DISCUSSION 

THE  story  of  the  upbuilding  of  our  present  methods  of 
travel  and  transportation  is  not  a  record  of  the  de¬ 
velopment  of  a  system  for  the  carrying  of  commodities. 
It  is  a  history  of  the  devices  originated  by  the  people 
primarily  for  their  personal  use  and  comfort  in  moving 
from  place  to  place.  Only  after  the  early  population  had 
occupied  some  new  region  by  means  of  the  crude  and 
primitive  travel  methods  then  in  use  were  there  any  com¬ 
modities  to  move  or  men  to  move  them,  and  not  until  then, 
after  each  successive  surge  of  population  into  fresh  terri¬ 
tory,  were  existing  methods  of  human  travel  expanded, 
or  new  ones  brought  into  being,  for  the  purpose  of  also 
transporting  the  material  wealth  those  pioneers  had 
created. 

The  pioneer,  no  matter  of  what  date  or  locality,  was 
always  a  traveller  before  he  was  a  producer  or  shipper  of 
goods,  and  the  common  experience  of  the  people,  gained 
on  their  journeys,  was  —  save  in  one  instance  —  the  basis 
on  which  future  permanent  routes  and  methods  of  travel 

1 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


were  planned  and  created.  The  one  exception  to  this 
manner  of  evolution  lay  in  the  memorable  demonstration 
that  steam  could  be  successfully  used  for  the  propulsion 
of  travel  vehicles.  It  was  an  instance  wherein  genius 
and  reason  overshadowed  experience  and  precedent. 

America  has  witnessed  the  introduction  and  develop¬ 
ment  of  much  that  has  been  permanently  adopted  into  the 
travel  methods  of  the  world.  That  this  is  so  is  not,  in  all 
probability,  due  chiefly  to  the  genius  or  inventive  ability 
of  the  nation  as  a  first  cause.  Its  underlying  reason, 
rather,  can  be  traced  to  the  extent  and  configuration  of  the 
country,  to  the  period  during  which  its  population  as¬ 
sumed  goodly  size,  to  certain  political  events  of  its  his¬ 
tory,  and  to  a  universal  restlessness  and  desire  for  haste 
which  for  a  long  time  has  been  so  characteristic  of  its 
people. 

For  nearly  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  from  the  estab¬ 
lishment  of  the  first  permanent  settlements  along  the  At¬ 
lantic  coast  there  were  practically  no  improvements  made 
in  the  manner  of  moving  over  the  face  of  the  land.  Almost 
all  progress,  in  that  respect,  was  confined  to  improving 
Indian  trails  which  led  into  the  wilderness,  joining 
a  newly-established  farm  or  settlement  to  its  neighbors,  or 
turning  old  pack-horse  paths  into  crude  wagon  roads  as 
the  settlements  gradually  grew  into  towns.  During  all 
that  time  the  trend  of  travel,  generally  speaking,  was 
north  and  south.  True,  there  were  a  few  adventurous 
spirits  who  plunged  into  the  unknown  and  sometimes 
came  back,  bringing  tales  of  distances  beyond  comprehen¬ 
sion,  of  never-ending  woods,  of  unknown  mountains,  riv¬ 
ers  or  lakes.  But  that  was  not  travel.  That  was  adven¬ 
ture,  hunting  or  sheer  folly,  and  the  population,  clinging  * 
to  its  little  strip  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  in  width 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


along  the  coast,  never  seriously  considered  giving  battle 
to  the  vastness  which  brooded  beside  them. 

Yet  those  early  Americans  were  commencing  the  con¬ 
quest,  though  they  did  not  know  it.  Each  new  farm  es¬ 
tablished  a  little  farther  on,  each  new  child  born,  helped 
toward  the  far-distant  victory;  but  their  chief  contribu¬ 
tion  to  the  contest  in  which  nature  was  at  last  to  be  de¬ 
feated  by  man’s  demand  for  movement  in  speed  and  com¬ 
fort  lay  in  a  gradual  change  in  the  character  of  the  people 
themselves.  As  generation  after  generation  slipped  by, 
the  separation  of  related  families  and  an  increase  in  the 
petty  business  affairs  of  the  population  multiplied  the 
small  journeys  between  different  settlements  and  colonies. 
The  time  of  the  individual  man  became  more  valuable. 
The  restlessness  and  hurry  of  the  modern  American, 
his  desire  for  speed  and  a  short-cut  to  his  destination, 
found  its  small  beginning.  Gradually,  also,  the  attitude 
of  the  people  toward  the  wilderness  changed.  It  still 
remained — as  do  its  present  fragments — a  thing  of  awe, 
but  it  was  better  comprehended  and  less  feared. 

Then  was  introduced  into  the  problem  a  political  ele¬ 
ment  which  had  no  visible  relevancy  at  the  time,  but  whose 
relationship  to  the  subject,  from  this  latter-day  stand¬ 
point,  is  apparent.  The  revolution  against  England,  the 
confederation  of  the  colonies  that  followed  its  success, 
and  the  acquirement  of  the  immense  region  known  as  the 
Louisiana  Purchase  gave  to  the  people  a  lesson  in  the 
necessity  of  united  action,  a  better  understanding  of  the 
common  welfare,  and  a  gradual  realization  that  they  had, 
for  a  task,  the  subjugation  of  a  continent. 

The  period  during  and  immediately  following  these 
political  incidents  in  America  marked  the  beginning  of  a 
new  social,  intellectual  and  industrial  era  throughout  the 

3 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


civilized  world.  All  that  had  happened  theretofore,  for 
a  long  time,  was  practically  the  last  chapter  of  the  Mid¬ 
dle  Ages.  Modern  life  as  we  know  it,  and  the  use  of 
human  creative  energy  in  a  way  designed  to  transform 


1. — Indians  fashioning  log  canoes  by  means  of  fire  and  tools.  Craft  of  this 
sort  were  the  first  vehicles  used  by  English  speaking 
white  colonists  in  America. 


the  circumstances  of  mankind,  began  then.  It  was  the 
time  of  the  great  awakening;  the  birth  of  mechanical 
power;  the  beginning  of  an  epoch  whose  unbelievable 
achievements  would  drive  the  mind  to  madness  were  thev 

y 

not,  happily,  so  commonplace.  We  are  scarcely  human 
beings  any  more  —  merely  spectators  of  a  drama  of  de¬ 
velopment  which  has  no  visible  end,  and  whose  actors 
make  up  the  plot  as  they  go  along. 

From  about  1785  until  1870  old  methods  and  condi¬ 
tions  went  to  the  scrap  heap,  and  the  world,  as  we  bump 

4 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


against  it,  was  built  all  over  again.  And  in  no  other  one 
feature  of  man’s  affairs,  perhaps,  were  greater  or  more 
extraordinary  changes  made  than  in  his  manner  of  travel¬ 
ling.  In  the  revolution  thus  accomplished  America,  for 
obvious  reasons,  took  a  part  that  was  very  prominent. 
There  were  then  but  two  continents  —  Europe  and  Amer¬ 
ica —  whose  peoples  found  within  themselves  the  neces¬ 
sity  of  change.  Africa,  Australia,  South  America  and 
Asia  were  not  ready.  They  were  to  escape  the  period  of 
experiment  and  to  install,  at  a  later  day,  the  tested  and 
perfected  systems  brought  to  completion  elsewhere. 
America  had  an  advantage  over  Europe  in  that  her  prob¬ 
lem  was  a  larger  one,  and  presented  conditions  more  prim¬ 
itive  and  complex.  Greater  necessities  resulted  in  bigger 
performances.  To  this  may  also  be  added  the  fact  that 
Europe  presented,  to  the  impending  evolution  in  travel,  a 
multitude  of  comparatively  small  states  whose  size,  pe¬ 
culiar  geographical  relationships  and  political  quarrels 
definitely  prevented  the  adoption  of  a  uniform,  conti¬ 
nental  system  of  communication  development.  America, 
on  the  contrary,  offered  in  her  compact  mass  and  shape  an 
ideal  opportunity  for  the  planning  and  methodical  crea¬ 
tion  of  such  a  system.  But  she  did  not  see  the  chance,  and 
threw  it  away.  Twice  —  first  when  steamboats  came  into 
general  use,  and  again  in  the  early  years  of  railroad  build¬ 
ing —  those  who  had  the  shaping  of  public  affairs  failed 
to  see  the  portent  of  what  was  taking  place,  and  the  petty 
jealousies  of  individual  states  were  permitted  to  warp  and 
disfigure  the  results  of  those  vital  years.  Viewing  the 
history  of  the  whole  American  period  under  discussion  — 
from  about  1630  until  1870 — it  seems  as  though  the 
clearest  perception  of  the  significance  of  events  and  of 
public  necessity  and  intent  was  to  be  found  most  quickly, 

S 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


not  in  the  minds  of  those  whom  history  names  as  leaders 
of  men,  but  in  the  collective  understanding  of  the  multi¬ 
tude.  In  their  attitude  toward  the  national  need  for 
travel  facilities,  during  nearly  all  the  big  and  important 
periods  of  the  story,  those  famous  ones  have  held  aloof, 
remaining  dull  to  opportunity  and  laggard  in  perform¬ 
ance  until  the  onrush  of  the  nameless  thousands  swept 
them,  like  a  torrent,  into  tardy  action.  Yet  there  were 
times  when  the  multitude,  as  well  as  the  head  men 
of  the  country,  could  not  understand  its  opportunities. 

A  somewhat  comprehensive  review  is  necessary — as 
far  as  the  text  of  the  record  is  concerned  —  to  indicate  the 
travel  conditions  existing  during  the  first  hundred  and 
sixty  years  of  the  national  history,  together  with  the  hu¬ 
man  experiences  and  social  life  which  accompanied  them. 
After  those  things  have  been  considered  the  narrative  need 
concern  itself  only  with  the  comparatively  short  but  im¬ 
portant  epoch  between  1788-9  and  1868-9.  During 
that  interval  of  eighty  years  the  transformation  from 
archaic  conditions  to  the  vehicles  we  use  to-day  was 
brought  about.  Its  chief  features  are  better  known  than 
are  those  of  the  former  era.  The  changes  made  within 
the  last  forty  years  have  been,  with  few  exceptions,  refine¬ 
ments  or  better  forms  of  what  already  existed;  inevitable 
outgrowths  of  methods  that  preceded  them.  They  do  not 
call  for  extended  comment.  The  pictorial  part  of  the 
review  must  necessarily  be  devoted  principally  to  the 
eighty  years  during  which  the  revolution  in  methods  of 
transportation  occurred. 

It  is  but  reasonable  to  expect,  in  studying  any  epoch  of 
human  advancement,  that  certain  things  which  took  place 
during  its  continuance  will  stand  out  with  prominence. 
That  is  true  in  this  case,  and  we  find  in  considering  the 

6 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


development  of  travel  in  America  and  the  relation  of  such 
development  to  the  national  progress  that  there  were  five 
events,  or  movements,  within  the  years  discussed,  which 
occupy  in  its  history  positions  very  similar  to  those  held  by 
decisive  battles  in  the  story  of  a  nation’s  political  life. 
The  five  events  were: 

The  governmental  organization  of  the  Ohio  country 
and  the  Northwest  Territory,  and  the  beginning  of  a 
general  migration  to  those  regions,  in  1787-1789; 

A  general  public  recognition  of  the  value  of  steam  as  a 
means  of  propulsion,  in  1807-1809; 

The  beginning  of  the  railway  building  period,  in  1828- 
1829;  / 

Discovery  of  gold  in  the  West  and  the  general  rush 
across  the  plains,  in  1848-1849; 

Completion  of  the  first  transcontinental  railway,  in 
1869. 

It  is  an  interesting  circumstance  that  these  movements, 
each  of  which  was  largely  due  to  the  attitude  and  active 
participation  of  the  whole  population,  followed  one  an¬ 
other  at  intervals  of  almost  exactly  twenty  years.  Whether 
or  not  they  were  merely  a  series  of  coincidences,  or  whether 
they  had  their  source  in  some  deeper  condition  that  re¬ 
sulted  in  successive  periodic  eruptions  of  mental  and  phys¬ 
ical  energy  affecting  a  whole  people,  may  be  left  to  ex¬ 
perts  in  the  psychology  of  a  growing  nation.  However 
ably  the  phenomenon  may  be  explained  on  the  basis  of 
chance,  there  will,  perhaps,  remain  a  lingering  notion 
that  it  was  not  wholly  due  to  accident. 

The  years  that  witnessed  the  slow  transformation  from 
primitive  to  modern  conditions  contained,  of  course,  much 
more  than  is  indicated  by  these  five  events.  They  are  but 
later  landmarks  from  which  we  may  most  easily  take  our 

7 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


bearings  from  time  to  time.  Nor  should  we  fail  to  re¬ 
member  that  progress,  in  the  upbuilding  of  our  present 
system,  did  not  take  place  with  uniformity  based  on  the 
lapse  of  years.  It  often  happened  —  almost  always  hap¬ 
pened,  in  fact  —  that  some  one  section  of  the  country  was 
far  ahead  of  the  others  in  its  travel  facilities.  This  was 
due  either  to  earlier  settlement,  disparity  of  population, 
inherited  customs  of  the  people  or  to  the  physical  condi¬ 
tion  of  ths  contrasted  localities.  The  days  of  the  stage¬ 
coach,  for  instance,  persisted  in  the  West  in  full  vigor 


2.— A  white  traveller  in  a  log  canoe.  Such  a  boat  was  propelled  by  the  use  of 

a  rude  paddle  or  a  pole. 


for  a  generation  after  that  vehicle  had  disappeared  from 
the  eastern  states.  Only  within  the  last  few  years  have 
conditions  become  substantially  the  same  throughout 
the  whole  three  million  square  miles  of  continental  area. 

8 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


The  story  of  our  upward  growth  from  the  dugout 
canoe  to  the  floating  hotel  of  to-day,  from  the  dog-sled 
and  Conestoga  wagon  to  the  thunderbolts  that  we  call  ex¬ 
press  trains,  wonderful  as  the  progress  has  been,  is  not  one 
which  inspires  us  with  pride  alone.  There  are  tragedies 
in  it,  blunders  and  blindness  and  mistakes  innumerable. 
With  few  precedents  to  serve  as  guides,  and  sometimes 
with  no  precedents  at  all,  the  problem  was  not  like  the 
task  of  an  architect  who  draws  a  plan  and  then  builds  his 
house  accordingly.  In  this  case  there  was  no  plan,  for 
never  at  any  stage  of  the  task  did  there  appear  a  man  who 
was  big  enough  both  to  picture  the  needs  of  the  future 
and  to  compel  the  attention  of  the  public  mind  to  them. 
A  few  men,  from  time  to  time,  had  visions  of  those  things 
that  now  exist  in  concrete  form,  and  many  others  com¬ 
manded  the  confidence  of  the  people  in  matters  of  dif¬ 
ferent  nature,  but  it  did  not  happen  that  those  two  quali¬ 
ties  were  ever  combined  in  one  early  personality  inter¬ 
ested  in  the  travel  and  transportation  facilities  of  the 
nation. 

The  development  of  the  system  from  its  primitive 
conditions,  as  a  consequence,  was  in  large  degree  a  history 
of  feverish  energy  based  upon  incomplete  experiment; 
the  discarding  of  mistakes;  shortsightedness;  jealousy; 
and  a  lack  of  unity  and  coherence  among  the  various  parts 
of  the  system  as  they  were  at  first  created.  When  rail¬ 
roads  came  into  use,  for  instance,  the  distance  between 
New  York  and  Washington  was  at  first  spanned  by  sev¬ 
eral  companies,  each  of  which  adopted  a  track-width 
different  from  that  of  the  others  in  order  that  the  cars  of 
one  road  could  not  run  on  the  rails  of  its  rivals.  Some 
states  would  not  permit  railroads  incorporated  by  them 
to  cross  their  boundary  lines  into  adjoining  states. 

9 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


Since  this  preliminary  chapter  is,  in  a  sense,  a  series 
of  suggestions  designed  as  a  glue  to  hold  together  all  that 
comes  after,  it  is  desirable  to  refer  to  one  other  general 
aspect  of  the  subject.  Several  times  within  the  last  hun¬ 
dred  and  twenty-five  years  the  development  of  our  travel 
system  has  been  affected  —  usually  to  its  serious  disad¬ 
vantage —  by  the  operation  of  certain  well  recognized 
phases  of  American  character.  The  traits  that  have  had 
such  an  influence  are  the  tendency  of  the  public  mind  to 
concentrate  all  its  attention  on  some  one  subject  of  spec¬ 
tacular  or  popular  interest  at  the  moment,  to  the  exclu¬ 
sion  of  other  matters  often  more  deserving  of  thought;  an 
intensity  of  public  feeling  which,  when  once  aroused,  fos¬ 
ters  either  a  general  optimism  or  corresponding  pessi¬ 
mism;  and  the  restlessness  and  desire  for  hurry  at  any  cost 
that  has  been  so  prominent  and  so  steadily  increasing  for 
about  a  century. 

The  exhibition  of  these  traits  has  varied,  and  still 
does,  in  different  periods,  regions  and  cities.  More  than 
once  it  has  happened  that  some  circumstance  or  experi¬ 
ence  of  easily  recognized  importance  to  the  whole  people 
has  had  a  powerful  effect,  for  a  considerable  time,  in  ex¬ 
citing  one  or  more  of  those  qualities.  And  whenever  such 
an  occurrence  or  condition  of  public  affairs  has  coincided 
with  a  critical  period  in  the  history  of  our  travel  system 
the  effect  has  always  been  noticeable,  and  often  strange  — 
from  our  present  viewpoint.  Sometimes  the  public  mind 
has  been  made  incapable  of  seeing  an  opportunity  which, 
if  realized  and  grasped,  would  have  saved  many  years. 

Again,  when  under  the  sway  of  an  era  of  happy-go- 
lucky  optimism,  the  people  have  tolerated  or  accepted 
much  discomfort  and  danger  in  going  from  place  to  place, 
only  to  alter  their  attitude,  suddenly  manifest  their  dis- 

10 


3.— Large  bark  canoes  were  sometimes  employed  in  bays  and  along  the  coast. 
Also  showing  a  sailing  vessel  made  by  laying  a  deck  on  the  transverse 
timbers  which  united  two  canoes.  This  principle  was  afterward  used  in 
small  craft  on  interior  rivers.  See  illustration  No.  89. 

11 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


pleasure  at  such  undesirable  conditions,  and  suggest 
the  ending  of  them  forthwith.  That  particular  series  of 
events  is  constantly  recurring  even  until  to-day.  But  the 
imposition,  public  awakening  and  compelling  of  drastic 
though  necessary  reform  which  is  now  occasionally 
apparent  is  attended  with  less  of  popular  outcry  than 
formerly  accompanied  such  situations.  We  have  become 
more  self-contained,  and,  in  addition,  the  transportation 
system  in  all  its  ramifications  has  learned  that  the  comfort 
and  safety  of  the  traveller  must  be  considered  before  all 
else. 

The  subject  to  which  these  pages  are  devoted  is  the 
foundation  whereon  the  country,  considered  as  a  social 
and  industrial  organization,  has  been  built.  A  few  years 
ago  —  until  as  late  a  date  as  1806  —  the  six  or  seven  mil¬ 
lion  people  of  America  were  contentedly  visiting  their 
friends,  or  moving  about  on  business,  in  flatboats,  dog- 
sleds,  stage-coaches,  strange  wagons  or  canoes.  Those 
were  the  only  vehicles  of  travel  and  when  they  were  not 
available,  as  was  very  often  the  case,  the  traveller  walked 
or  else  rode  upon  a  horse.  To  go  from  the  Atlantic  sea- 
coast  to  such  remote  regions  as  Cincinnati  or  St.  Louis 
or  Fort  Dearborn  —  now  Chicago  —  in  those  days  meant 
a  journey  of  many  weary  weeks,  with  possibly  the  loss  of 
a  scalp.  Such  a  thing  as  a  trip  across  the  continent  and 
back  was  not  within  the  range  of  thought  of  the  ordinary 
man.  A  vast  undertaking  like  that,  requiring  years  for  its 
accomplishment,  demanded  the  resources  of  the  national 
government  and  an  elaborate  exploring  expedition. 
When  at  last  it  was  performed,  the  successful  making  of  a 
transcontinental  journey  became  the  subject  of  a  uni¬ 
versal  interest  and  acclaim.  Books  were  written  about  it. 

To-day  we  are  annoyed  if  we  are  late  for  breakfast  in 

12 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


Chicago  or  Cincinnati  after  having  left  the  Atlantic 
coast  in  the  middle  of  the  previous  afternoon,  and  the 
railway  apologizes,  and  returns  part  of  our  money.  Also 
we  are  ninety  millions  instead  of  seven,  and  by  the  waters 
of  the  Pacific  sit  great  cities  but  five  days  separated  from 
their  sisters  of  the  East. 

The  stage-coach,  canal-boat,  canoe,  dog-sled  and  prai¬ 
rie  schooner,  and  the  archaic  steamboat  and  railway  train 
also,  have  become  fossils  in  the  geology  of  modern  life. 
But  the  tale  of  the  part  they  played  in  the  growth  and 
development  of  the  country  still  remains.  It  is  the  one 
story  written  by  all  Americans  in  collaboration. 

In  this  present  realm  of  four-day  ocean  steamships,  of 
trains  that  dive  beneath  rivers  or  plunge  through  a  thou¬ 
sand  miles  in  twenty  hours,  of  subways,  motor-cars,  sub¬ 
marine  boats,  and  with  the  flying  machine  just  beginning 
to  dot  the  sky,  we  are  privileged  to  remember,  if  we 
choose,  that  once  upon  a  time  the  express  boats  on  the 
canals  maintained  a  speed  of  three  miles  an  hour  for  day 
after  day,  and  that  the  Pioneer  Fast  Line  advertised  it 
would  rush  its  passengers  through  from  Philadelphia  to 
Pittsburgh  in  four  days  —  and  often  nearly  kept  its  word. 


CHAPTER  II 


THE  CONDITION  AND  APPEARANCE  OF  THE  COUNTRY  IN 
EARLY  DAYS  —  DIFFICULTY  OF  TRAVEL  THROUGH  THE 
VAST  FOREST  —  INDIAN  TRAILS  THE  FIRST  MEANS 
AND  BASIS  OF  LAND  MOVEMENT  BY  THE  WHITES  — 
TRAVEL  BY  WATER  PREFERRED  WHENEVER  POSSIBLE  — 
HOW  THE  DIFFERENT  TYPES  OF  CANOES  WERE  MADE 
AND  USED 

ONE  of  the  best  records  of  the  difficulties  and  methods 
of  American  travel  in  the  early  days  is  contained  in 
a  few  words  of  a  lately  discovered  document  written  in 
1694.1  In  that  year  Benjamin  Fletcher,  Governor  of  His 
Majesty’s  Province  of  New  York,  was  planning  an  attack 
on  the  French  in  Canada,  and  he  called  on  his  subordi¬ 
nates  for  a  report  which  should  show  the  strength  of  the 
enemy  and  by  what  route  and  method  of  travel  he  could 
most  easily  reach  them. 

The  answer  to  Governor  Fletcher’s  demand,  recently 
brought  to  light,  was  written  by  William  Pinhorne  and 
N.  Bayard  at  New  York,  on  July  25  of  the  year  named, 
and  in  it  they  said : 

“It  is  Impossible  to  march  with  any  party  of  men  to 
Canada  by  Land,  either  in  winter  or  summer,  but  they 
must  passe  a  Considerable  Part  of  ye  way  over  ve  Lake,2 
ye  Land  on  each  side  being  extream  steep  and  Rocky, 

1  Now  in  the  New  York  Historical  Society’s  collection. 

8  Lake  Champlain. 


14 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


mountains  or  els  a  meer  morasse  cumbred  with  under¬ 
wood,  where  men  cannot  goe  upright,  but  must  creep 
throu  Bushes  for  whole  days’  marches,  and  impossible  for 
horses  to  goe  at  any  time  of  ye  year.” 

And  in  a  letter  written  by  Deputy  Governor  Hinckley 
of  Plymouth  Colony,  about  1680,  in  which  he  appeals  to 
the  English  officials  in  London  for  certain  favors,  he 
argues  that  the  colony  is  entitled  to  what  he  asks  because 
it  was  “the  first  that  broke  the  ice,  and  underwent  ye 
brunt,  at  our  own  charge,  for  the  enlargement  of  his 
Majesties’  dominions  in  this  heretofore  most  howling 
wilderness,  amidst  wild  men  and  wild  beasts.” 

In  these  two  quotations  may  be  found  the  essential  out¬ 
lines  of  the  conditions  under  which  the  people  of  America 
in  those  days,  and  for  long  afterward,  lived  and  moved 
about  the  country.  It  was,  indeed,  a  “most  howling  wil¬ 
derness,”  so  immense  in  its  extent  and  unconquerable  in 
its  aspect  that  for  more  than  a  century  and  a  half  the  white 
population  sat,  helpless  and  afraid,  along  a  little  strip  of 
seacoast  but  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  in  width.  Yet  the 
interior  of  North  America  is  more  easily  accessible  for 
travel,  when  approached  and  entered  from  the  Atlantic 
seaboard,  than  is  the  corresponding  region  of  any  other 
continent. 

There  are  few  descriptions  that  were  written  in  those 
very  early  days  expressly  to  show  the  methods  and  hard¬ 
ships  of  travel.  No  doubt  the  lack  of  such  narratives  is 
due  to  the  state  of  mind  revealed  by  every  people,  in 
every  period,  toward  those  things  that,  to  them,  are  com¬ 
monplace  and  familiar.  The  Americans  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty  years  ago  prepared  manv  long  and  careful  ac¬ 
counts  of  such  things  as  they  saw  but  once  in  a  lifetime, 
but  of  records  far  more  interesting  to  us,  records  illumi- 

15 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


nating  the  every-day  conditions  by  which  they  were 
surrounded,  they  left  but  little  that  was  set  down  with  his 
torical  purpose.  Most  of  our  knowledge  of  the  sort  has 
been  pieced  together  from  fragments  such  as  diaries  and 
personal  letters  that  have  survived  by  accident. 

The  report  to  Governor  Fletcher  condenses  into  a  few 
words  certain  conditions  which  dominated  all  travel  in 
America  from  the  time  of  its  first  permanent  English  oc- 


4. — Indians  building  bark  canoes  in  the  forest.  They  were  made  from  the  bark 
of  the  birch,  spruce  or  elm.  The  first  white  settlers  at  once  adopted  this 
conveyance,  and  used  it  in  their  westward  advance  for  more  than  two 
centuries. 


cupation  until  shortly  before  the  Revolution.  Those  con¬ 
ditions  were  the  use  of  water  routes  wherever  possible; 
the  uselessness  of  horses  except  near  settlements  or  on 
beaten  paths;  the  necessity  of  performing  extended  jour¬ 
neys  on  foot;  and  the  extreme  difficulty  of  progress 

16 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


through  the  woods.  From  the  Atlantic  Ocean  to  the 
Mississippi  River  —  excepting  some  open  country  in  the 
region  now  in  part  occupied  by  Indiana,  Kentucky  and 
Illinois  —  the  land  was  covered  by  a  continuous  and  al¬ 
most  unbroken  forest.  This  wilderness  was  a  thousand 
miles  in  extent  from  east  to  west,  and  about  as  long  from 
north  to  south.  Through  it,  in  every  direction,  ran  count¬ 
less  rivers  and  their  tributaries. 

Now  this  genuine  primeval  forest  of  America  was 
very  different  in  its  character  and  appearance  from  any 
of  the  so-called  primeval  American  woods  of  to-day. 
Centuries  of  alien  human  companionship  affect  the  nature 
of  forests  in  a  marked  degree.  Those  that  still  remain, 
even  though  covering  areas  never  swept  bare  by  the  hand 
of  man,  have  become,  in  a  sense,  civilized.  The  bulk  of 
the  wilderness,  as  it  was  until  about  1790,  was  composed 
of  trees  that  were  from  two  to  five  feet  in  diameter.  In 
those  regions  where  the  trees  grew  close  together  the  girth 
gave  way  to  height,  and  many  reached  a  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  into  the  air.  Not  until  a  tree  was  some  six  or  eight 
feet  in  diameter  was  it  considered  a  large  one  and  those 
that  attracted  the  attention  of  travellers,  and  were  meas¬ 
ured,  were  ten,  twelve  and  sometimes  even  fifteen  feet  in 
thickness.  There  are  numerous  records  of  such  monsters 
in  the  region  east  of  the  Mississippi  now  occupied  by  the 
Middle  States.1 

The  earth  beneath  these  huge  growths  was  cumbered 
with  fallen  trees  of  all  sizes  and  in  all  stages  of  decay. 
The  hurricanes  that  now  do  occasional  damage  to  towns 
and  farms  regularly  wrought  their  havoc  in  the  wilder¬ 
ness,  and  the  confusion  and  tangle  of  the  forest  after  the 

1  On  Manhattan  Island,  New  York  City,  there  still  survives  one  of  those  ancient 
•monarchs.  It  is  a  tulip  tree  about  ten  feet  in  diameter  at  the  ground,  and  six  feet 
thick  at  the  height  of  a  man. 

17 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


visit  of  such  a  storm  can  easily  be  pictured.  Up  from  the 
earth  made  rich  by  ages  of  decayed  vegetation  sprang  all 
manner  of  thickets  and  similar  small  growths  that  some¬ 
times  choked  the  lower  spaces  and  were  frequently  bound 
together  by  a  snarl  of  vines  tough  as  wires  or  as  big  as  a 
man’s  wrist.  The  rains  or  melting  snows  left  such  soil 
very  slowly,  and  that  is  why  there  are  frequent  references, 
in  olden  records,  to  swamps  or  morasses  which  then  occu¬ 
pied  sections  that  have  long  since  become  dry  and  solid 
ground. 

Such  was  the  wilderness.  It  climbed  the  hills  and 
mountains  with  its  three  hundred  species  of  trees,  and, 
stopping  only  for  the  passage  of  a  river,  resumed  its  sway 
upon  the  farther  bank  and  still  marched  on.  The  little 
streams,  completely  covered,  flowed  under  archways  amid 
somber  shadows. 

The  human  habitants  of  this  vast  and  gloomy  region, 
in  which  the  sun’s  rays  in  places  never  reached  the  ground, 
were  two  or  three  hundred  thousand  copper-colored  na¬ 
tives,1  whose  numbers  were  too  small  to  have  made  any 
impression  on  it,  even  had  they  been  so  inclined.  But 
they  were  not  so  purposed.  Instead,  they  were  peculiarly 
in  harmony  and  sympathy  with  their  home,  and  desired 
that  it  should  remain  always  as  they  knew  it.  The  few 
agricultural  clearings  made  by  some  of  the  Indians  who 
lived  north  of  the  Ohio  River,  by  the  Iroquois  in  what  is 
now  central  New  York  state,  and  elsewhere,  were  trivial 
gashes  amid  the  universal  woods.  When  the  Indians 
travelled  they  moved  by  water  if  their  purpose  made  it 
possible.  For  their  land  travel  they  created  paths  leading 
from  one  stream  to  another.  In  going  across  country  they 
had  a  wonderful  faculty  for  establishing  routes  that  were, 

1  Early  estimates  of  the  number  of  the  Indian  population  were  much  exaggerated. 

18 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


in  an  economic  sense,  the  best  that  could  be  chosen.  An 
Indian  overland  trail  always  led  the  traveller  to  his  desti¬ 
nation  in  less  time,  or  with  fewer  physical  obstacles  to 
overcome,  than  any  other  course  that  could  be  selected 


5. — White  men  travelling  through  the  wilderness  by  bark  canoe.  The  craft 
is  about  to  be  unloaded  and  carried  overland  around  the  rapids. 


between  the  two  points  which  it  connected.  Practically  the 
whole  present-day  system  of  travel  and  transportation  in 
America  east  of  the  Mississippi  River,  including  many 
turnpikes,  is  based  upon,  or  follows,  the  system  of  forest 
paths  established  by  the  Indians  hundreds  of  years  ago. 

These  Indian  trails  —  the  corner-stone  of  land  travel 
in  America  —  were  from  twelve  to  eighteen  inches  in 
width,  and  sometimes,  when  they  led  through  regions 
where  the  native  travel  was  particularly  heavy  and  long 
continued,  were  worn  a  foot  deep  by  generations  of  soft 

19 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


moccasins.  Along  such  native  highways  the  trained  run¬ 
ners  of  the  Indians  are  believed  to  have  covered,  on  some 
few  occasions,  almost  a  hundred  miles  between  sunrise  and 
sunset. 

Centuries  after  their  paths  were  laid  out  a  white  man 
named  Nathaniel  Hawthorne  spoke  of  the  use  of  them 
made  by  his  fellow  white  men  of  Massachusetts,  and  he 
said:  “The  forest  track  trodden  by  the  hob-nailed  shoes 
of  these  sturdy  Englishmen  has  now  a  distinctness  which 
it  never  could  have  acquired  from  the  light  tread  of  a 
hundred  times  as  many  moccasins.  It  goes  onward  from 
one  clearing  to  another,  here  plunging  into  a  shadowy 
strip  of  woods,  there  open  to  the  sunshine,  but  everywhere 
showing  a  decided  line  along  which  human  interests1  have 
begun  to  hold  their  career  .  .  .  And  the  Indians 

coming  from  their  distant  wigwams  to  view  the  white 
man’s  settlement  marvel  at  the  deep  track  which  he  makes, 
and  perhaps  are  saddened  by  a  flitting  presentiment  that 
this  heavy  tread  will  find  its  way  over  all  the  land.” 

Hawthorne,  had  he  not  the  mind  of  a  poet,  would 
have  put  the  idea  more  bluntly  than  he  did,  for  it  was  no 
mere  flitting  presentiment  that  the  Indian  of  his  day  held. 
It  was  a  realization  of  the  inevitable,  acknowledged  with 
a  despair  that  was  felt,  though  unspoken.  When  Peter 
Wilson,  a  Cayuga  chief  and  very  able  Indian,  visited  New 
York  City  in  1847  he  delivered  an  address  before  the  New 
York  Historical  Society  in  which  he  referred  to  this  same 
subject.  “The  Empire  State,  as  you  love  to  call  it,”  were 
the  words  of  the  red  chief,  “was  once  laced  by  our  trails 
from  Albany  to  Buffalo;  trails  that  we  have  trod  for  cen¬ 
turies;  trails  worn  so  deep  by  the  feet  of  the  Iroquois  that 
they  became  your  roads  of  travel,  as  your  possessions  grad- 

1  White  men’s  interests  is  what  he  meant. 

20 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


ually  ate  into  those  of  my  people.  Your  roads  still  tra¬ 
verse  those  same  lines  of  communication  which  bound  one 
part  of  the  Long  House1  to  the  other.” 

The  forest  roads  of  the  natives  —  first  aids  to  such 
land  travel  as  was  attempted  in  early  days  by  the  white 
population  of  America  —  were  not  the  only  contribution 
made  by  the  red  men  to  the  methods  of  the  newcomers. 
From  them,  also,  was  taken  the  earliest  form  of  water 
craft.  The  canoe,  as  used  by  the  Indians  and  at  once 
adopted  by  the  whites,  was  of  two  very  different  forms. 
One  was  made  from  a  log  of  suitable  size,  and  the  other 
from  the  bark  of  trees,  especially  the  birch,  spruce,  or 
elm.  The  use  of  these  two  types,  both  by  the  Indians  and 
afterward  by  white  invaders,  depended  on  the  nature  of 
the  waters  to  be  navigated,  the  desire  for  speed,  and  the 
frequent  necessity  of  making  portages  from  one  stream  to 
another.  To  some  extent  also  the  type  was  a  geographical 
one,  since  the  birch  tree  from  the  bark  of  which  the  best 
kind  of  bark  canoe  was  made  was  not  so  plentiful  in  the 
South  as  in  the  North.  For  a  heavy  wooden  canoe  a  fallen 
log  was  selected  that,  while  still  entirely  sound,  had  be¬ 
come  somewhat  seasoned.  Sometimes  a  standing  tree  was 
chosen  by  the  Indians  and  felled  by  means  of  hatchets  or 
fire.  A  section  of  the  trunk  from  fifteen  to  thirty  feet  long 
and  about  three  feet  in  diameter  was  then  cut  out  and  ele¬ 
vated  from  the  ground,  for  convenience  in  carrying  on  the 
work.  The  log  was  shaped  and  hollowed  by  fire  and 
cutting  implements,  and  a  very  strong  and  serviceable, 
though  rough  and  slow  moving  craft  was  obtained.2  Such 
canoes  were  only  adapted  for  lakes  or  single  rivers.  They 
were  not  taken  overland  from  one  water  to  another. 

In  fashioning  the  much  more  graceful,  mobile  and 

1  The  Iroquois  name  for  their  Confederacy. 

2  Such  a  canoe  became  known  by  the  colonists  as  a  “pirogue,”  or  “perogue.” 

21 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


W.1N 


:i£ 


1  Q 

Wt, 


6. — Building  pinnaces,  schooners  and  similar  boats  for  travel  along  the  coast. 
A  scene  in  New  Amsterdam  during  the  Dutch  occupancy, 
drawn  from  an  early  description  and  sketch. 


useful  birch-bark  canoe  the  Indian  selected  his  tree,  made 
a  straight  vertical  incision  in  the  bark  from  near  the  base 
of  the  trunk  to  a  spot  at  the  height  of  his  head,  and  then, 
with  utmost  care,  peeled  the  bark  from  the  tree  by  the  aid 
of  his  knife.  The  framework  of  the  craft  was  made  of 
thin  strips  of  cedar  or  spruce,  and  the  birch-bark  covering 
was  attached  to  it  by  long,  tough,  slender,  fibrous  roots  of 
the  larch  or  balsam,  which  had  previously  been  manipu¬ 
lated  into  extreme  pliability.  The  various  strips  of  birch- 
bark  were  also  sewed  together  with  the  same  sort  of  roots, 
and,  before  being  fastened  to  the  framework,  were  cut  to 
the  necessary  pattern.  The  boat  was  then  completed  and 
given  its  final  shape  by  the  insertion  of  the  many  narrow 
and  elastic  ribs  of  spruce.  All  seams  and  cracks  were  cov¬ 
ered  with  hot  pitch  from  the  balsam  or  spruce,  and  the 
>canoe  was  water-tight  and  ready  for  use.  Each  tribe  had 

22 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


its  own  pattern  or  style  for  its  canoes,  and  they  varied  in 
size  from  ten  or  twelve  feet  to  fifty  or  sixty  feet  in  length. 

In  this  wonderful  and  famous  boat,  created  by  the 
woodcraft  genius  of  the  Indian  from  the  materials  imme¬ 
diately  about  him,  he  could  travel  for  thousands  of  miles 
if  need  be.  When  he  came  to  the  head  waters  of  a  stream, 
where  the  current  no  longer  afforded  the  few  inches  of 
depth  necessary  to  carry  him  on  his  way,  he  could  pick  up 
his  canoe  and  carry  it  for  miles  to  another  lake  or  river. 
In  times  of  storm  it  served  him  as  a  snug  shelter,  and  the 
forest  was  a  factory  where  it  could  be  repaired,  or  even 
replaced,  at  any  time,  with  prompt  delivery  guaranteed. 

“Thus  the  Birch  Canoe  was  builded 
In  the  valley,  by  the  river, 

In  the  bosom  of  the  forest; 

And  it  floated  on  the  river 
Like  a  yellow  leaf  in  Autumn, 

Like  a  yellow  water  lily.”1 


Longfellow’s  lines,  from  “Hiawatha.” 


CHAPTER  III 


EARLY  DEVELOPMENT  GOVERNED  BY  THE  NEEDS  OF  COM¬ 
MUNITIES  RATHER  THAN  BY  KNOWLEDGE  OR  EXPLORA¬ 
TION —  THE  CENTERS  FROM  WHICH  TRAVEL  MOVE¬ 
MENTS  RADIATED  —  PRIMITIVE  BRIDGES  —  THE 
BUILDING  OF  SMALL  BOATS  BEGUN  —  A  PHILAN¬ 
THROPIC  MISTAKE  OF  THE  DUTCH  —  ORGANIZED  MI¬ 
GRATIONS  OF  LARGE  COMPANIES  OF  PEOPLE  AN  IMPOR¬ 
TANT  FEATURE  OF  THE  FIRST  CENTURY 

THE  many  years  of  early  exploration  throughout  the 
whole  extent  of  the  continent,  carried  on  by  brave 
individual  adventurers  and  trappers  chiefly  from  Spain 
and  France  before  the  year  1620  had  almost  no  effect  in 
shaping  the  after-history  and  development  of  America’s 
travel  system.  The  significance  of  any  discovery  in  its 
relation  to  the  subject,  whether  of  route  or  method  of 
travel,  did  not  lie  in  the  earliest  information  respecting 
that  route  or  method,  but  in  the  popular  impulse  which 
was  later  —  sometimes  much  later  —  to  recognize  its 
value  and  demand  its  use.  It  was  necessity  or  compre¬ 
hension,  not  knowledge;  the  needs  or  desires  of  the 
people  rather  than  the  exploits  and  achievements  of 
individuals  that  always  influenced  the  progress  of  the 
system  and  led  on,  little  by  little,  to  what  now  exists. 

Hence  it  was  that  definite  and  visible  progress  in 
creating  established  methods  of  getting  about  the  country 
did  not  begin  until  several  English  colonies  had  found 

24 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


firm  foothold  along  the  Atlantic  coast.  There  were  three 
motives  that  caused  the  first  travel  movements  among  the 
early  population.  One  was  the  natural  wish  of  a  settle¬ 
ment  to  get  into  touch  with  its  neighbors;  another  was 
need  of  betterment  and  growth ;  and  the  third  was  an  oc¬ 
casional  impulse,  due  to  differences  of  one  sort  or  another, 
which  sometimes  caused  part  of  a  colony  to  separate  from 
the  rest  of  it  and  go  elsewhere  to  set  up  for  itself. 

The  five  principal  localities  from  which  radiated  the 
first  travel  movements  of  the  country  were  the  Chesapeake 
Bay  region;  eastern  Massachusetts;  New  York  Bay  and 
the  Great  River  of  the  Mountains;1  the  Connecticut 
River  valley  and  Long  Island  Sound;  and  Delaware 
Bay  and  the  Delaware  and  Susquehanna  Rivers.  Three 
of  these,  the  Chesapeake,  New  York  and  Delaware 
Bays,  are  important  among  those  gateways  already  re¬ 
ferred  to  through  which  the  interior  of  the  country  is 
accessible  from  the  Atlantic  seaboard.  But  the  two 
biggest  entrances  of  all — the  Mississippi  River  with 
its  tributaries  and  the  St.  Lawrence  River  and  the  Great 
Lakes  —  were  destined  to  play  a  much  smaller  part  in  the 
story  than  their  importance  warranted.  For  it  so  hap¬ 
pened  that  the  course  of  wars  and  politics  in  Europe 
produced  conditions  in  America  which  deprived  the 
Mississippi,  the  St.  Lawrence  River  and  the  lakes  of 
much  of  the  influence  they  might  otherwise  have  had  in 
shaping  the  development  of  travel  in  America. 

For  generations  five  mutually  jealous  and  conflict¬ 
ing  groups  were  quarreling  and  fighting  in  an  effort 
to  get  control  of  the  continent.  Each  of  three  nations — 
France,  Spain  and  England  —  was  scheming  to  extend  its 
own  possessions  and  oust  the  others ;  the  English  colonies 

•An  early  name  for  the  Hudson  River. 

25 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


were  trying  to  secure  the  administration  of  their  own 
affairs;  and  the  Indians  were  doing  what  they  could  to 
be  rid  of  the  lot  or  restrict  their  movements.  The  continu¬ 
ous  control  of  the  St.  Lawrence  by  the  French  for  nearly 
a  hundred  and  fifty  years  after  the  arrival  of  the  first 
English  colonies,  and  the  similar  uninterrupted  holding 
of  the  Mississippi  by  France  and  Spain  until  some  time 
after  the  Revolution,  long  prevented  the  use  of  those  two 
gateways  as  factors  in  any  progress  in  which  the  English 
speaking  inhabitants  were  interested.  And  the  impulse 


7. — Vessels  of  considerable  size  were  often  built  at  a  distance  from  the  water 
and  then  drawn  by  oxen  to  the  scene  of  their  employment.  While  so  moving 
they  rested  on  trucks  whose  wheels  were  solid  sections  of  hardwood  trees. 
The  scene  here  shown  is  in  Philadelphia,  where  a  large  sailing  boat  is 
being  finished  at  the  side  of  a  street. 


which  was  finally  to  result  in  giving  the  Mississippi  a 
place  in  the  free  and  unobstructed  travel  system  of  the 
country  came,  not  from  its  mouth,  but  from  the  upper 
valley  of  the  stream,  where  a  vigorous  English  speaking 

26 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


population  had  become  established  and  demanded  the  use 
of  the  river. 

By  about  the  year  1636,  then,  the  movement  of  the 
population  in  and  from  all  of  the  five  regions  named  had 


8. — The  first  sort  of  bridge  used  by  white  pioneers  was  a  log  thrown  across 

a  stream. 


already  begun  and  some  action  had  been  taken,  both  by 
the  guiding  minds  of  the  colonies  and  by  the  people  on 
their  own  impulse,  to  make  such  travel  as  easy  and  rapid 
as  was  possible  under  the  conditions  that  surrounded  them. 
On  order  of  the  authorities  of  Plymouth  Colony  all  creeks 
and  rivulets  were  bridged  by  felling  trees  across  them, 
and  canoe  ferries  were  established  for  the  passage  of  the 
larger  streams.  A  few  of  the  first  canoes  used  by  the 
people  of  Massachusetts  Bay  and  Plymouth  Colony  were 
doubtless  of  the  birch  variety,  bought  from  the  Indians, 
but  the  prompt  and  unfortunate  results  of  the  unstable 
equilibrium  of  those  canoes  under  the  unpracticed  guid- 

27 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


ance  of  the  white  pioneers  quickly  decided  them  to  shift 
to  the  less  graceful,  but  more  calm  and  sedate  type  of 
craft  such  as  was  made  by  hollowing  a  log.  It  is 
not  difficult  to  picture  the  inward  emotion  of  an  Indian  as 
he  sold  a  birch-bark  canoe  to  a  high  hatted  Pilgrim,  and 
then,  standing  on  the  river  bank,  watched  his  customer 
step  into  the  craft,  only  instantly  to  leave  it  from  the  other 
side  and  disappear  head  first  into  the  water.  Having 
fished  out  the  white  interloper  the  red  man  would  buy 
back  his  canoe,  enter  it,  and  depart.  After  the  adoption 
cf  log  canoes  became  general,  and  as  population  increased, 
trees  especially  suitable  for  canoe  making  were  often 
marked  by  the  authorities  and  protected  by  orders  which 
forbade  their  use  for  any  other  purpose. 

The  difficulty  of  movement  on  the  land,  added  to  the 
location  of  the  colonies  on  navigable  waters  and  a  growing 
desire  to  get  into  closer  relationship  with  one  another,  led 
the  colonists  at  an  early  date  to  the  building  of  small 
sailing  vessels  suitable  for  navigating  the  many  bays  and 
short  stretches  of  sea  that  separated  them.  These  little 
boats  were  variously  called  pinks,  pinnaces,  ketches, 
schooners,  lighters,  shallops,  sloops  and  periaguas,  the 
names  depending  on  differences  in  the  rigging  of  the  craft 
or  the  shape  of  the  hull,  or  on  local  usage.  The  New 
England  people  were  noticeably  active  in  this  boat  mak¬ 
ing,  and  their  first  vessel,  the  Blessing  of  the  Bay ,  was 
launched  at  Mystic  in  1631.  By  1635  six  little  ships  had 
been  built,  and  after  the  year  1640  the  industry  was  well 
established  at  Boston,  Gloucester,  Plymouth,  Salem,  New 
Haven,  New  London,  Dorchester,  Scituate  and  Newport. 
During  the  forty-five  years  ending  with  1676  no  less  than 
seven  hundred  and  thirty  vessels  of  some  size  had  been 
created  by  Massachusetts  colonists  alone,  and  many  hun- 

28 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 

dred  others  by  the  men  of  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island 
and  Maine.  A  considerable  number  of  the  first  craft  were 
devoted  chiefly  to  fishing  or  to  trade  with  England,  the 
West  Indies  and  the  other  colonies,  but  boats  of  some  sort 
or  another  were  kept  by  families  living  near  water  just 
as  a  modern  farmer  or  business  man  keeps  an  automobile. 
They  were  used  to  travel  in  whenever  circumstances  per¬ 
mitted,  and  were  not  infrequently  hired  for  that  purpose. 

It  was  not  unusual  for  early  boats  to  be  constructed  at 
a  considerable  distance  from  the  water,  since  it  was  occa¬ 
sionally  more  economical  of  time  and  labor  to  move  the 
completed  vessel  overland  than  slowly  to  carry  heavy 
timbers  to  the  water’s  edge.  When  a  ship  so  built  was 
finished  the  settlement  gathered  on  an  appointed  day, 
placed  her  bodily  in  a  stout,  rude,  cradle-like  platform 
with  wide  wheels,  propped  her  securely,  and  off  she  went 
on  her  first  and  only  land  voyage.  Many  oxen  did  the 
hard  work  of  pulling,  and  in  that  way  boats  were  at 
times  hauled  a  mile  or  two  before  they  reached  a  more 
easily  navigated  element. 

By  the  year  1641  New  England  had  a  population  of 
about  twenty  thousand,  and  even  before  that  time  the 
governing  bodies  of  the  various  colonies  and  towns  had 
recognized  the  need  of  improving  the  land  routes  between 
such  settlements  as  were  near  together.  The  Massa¬ 
chusetts  General  Court,  in  1639,  declared  there  should  be 
a  road  between  Plymouth  and  Boston,  and  work  on  it  was 
soon  commenced.  As  yet  there  was  no  travel  by  land 
vehicles,  and  the  few  horses  were  used  almost  solely  for 
farm  purposes.  The  Indian  trails,  or  traces  as  they  were 
also  called,  still  remained  the  best  and  established  links 
of  land  communication.  All  such  trails,  however,  were 
gradually  being  widened  without  official  action  and 

29 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


changed  to  roads  by  the  increasing  travel  over  them,  and 
the  governmental  purpose  was  merely  to  hasten  and  im¬ 
prove  a  process  that  had  already  begun. 

Probably  the  earliest  important  travel  movement  by  a 
part  of  the  population  from  one  section  of  the  country 
to  another  was  that  which  resulted  in  the  permanent 
establishment  of  English  influence  in  what  is  now  Con¬ 
necticut.  For  this  the  Dutch  at  New  Amsterdam  were 
responsible,  much  to  their  later  sorrow  and  regret.  When 
the  Dutch  first  planted  themselves  in  the  New  World  they 
chose,  with  canny  foresight,  three  points  of  highest  im¬ 
portance  at  that  time,  namely,  Delaware  Bay,  the  Hudson 
River  valley  and  the  Connecticut  River  valley.  Having 
bought  Manhattan  Island  for  twenty-four  dollars’  worth 
of  trifles  that  were  sweet  in  the  sight  of  the  Indians, 
Governor  Van  Twiller  indulged  himself  in  a  burst  of 
generosity  which  was  not  thereafter  repeated.  He  sent  a 
party  up  to  Plymouth  to  call  on  his  English  neighbors, 
and  told  the  Pilgrims  that  the  valley  of  the  Connecticut, 
where  the  Dutch  already  had  a  sentiment  or  two,  was 
very  much  nicer  for  farming  than  their  bleak  location, 
and  recommended  that  they  try  it.  This  was  in  1627. 
The  Puritans  of  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony  also  heard 
favorable  rumor  about  the  Connecticut  River  region  in 
1631. 

As  a  result  of  these  reports  a  movement  from  the  two 
Massachusetts  colonies  began  in  1633,  and  by  1636  no 
less  than  a  thousand  men,  women  and  children  had  under¬ 
taken  the  journey  to  their  new  homes.  The  Blessing  of 
the  Bay  made  a  trip  from  Boston  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Connecticut  in  the  year  first  named,  and  at  the  same  time 
a  small  party  started  overland  to  the  river,  penetrating  as 
far  as  the  present  site  of  Springfield,  in  Massachusetts. 

30 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


Later  in  the  same  year  a  company  of  people  travelled  by 
boat  from  Plymouth  to  the  Connecticut  coast,  landed 
there,  proceeded  up  the  river,  and  started  the  settlement 
that  became  Windsor.  Small  parties  followed  at  inter¬ 
vals,  usually  going  in  boats,  but  in  November  of  1635 
a  party  numbering  sixty  persons  succeeded  in  making  the 
trip  overland.  This  remarkable  and  hitherto  unparallelled 


9. — Bridges  similar  to  this  were  the  most  elaborate  that  were  required  until 
wheeled  vehicles  came  into  use  for  journeys  between  separated  settlements.. 


land  journey  of  about  one  hundred  miles  was  accom¬ 
plished  in  two  weeks.  The  household  goods  of  the 
travellers  were  sent  by  water,  but  the  live  stock,  consisting 
of  numerous  cattle  and  a  few  horses,  marched  through 
the  forest  with  their  owners.  The  speed  of  the  caravan 
averaged  a  little  more  than  a  mile  in  an  hour.  All  the 
men,  women  and  sturdy  children  walked,  and  those  who 
became  ill  or  exhausted  were  placed  on  the  broad  backs; 

31 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


of  the  oxen,  or  on  the  horses.  The  men  carried  packs 
of  food  and  small  utensils  on  their  backs,  and  were  also 
armed,  but  suffered  no  molestation. 

The  climax  of  the  migration  came  in  1636,  when 
Pastor  Thomas  Hooker  of  the  church  in  New  Town 
led  a  memorable  overland  expedition  from  Massachusetts 
Bay  colony  into  the  Connecticut  region.  Although  the 
number  of  those  who  made  the  journey  was  only  about 
one  hundred,  yet  the  pilgrimage,  with  those  that  imme¬ 
diately  followed  it,  seriously  depleted  the  population  of 
Dorchester,  Watertown  and  New  Town.  Governor 
Winthrop  refers  to  Hooker’s  famous  exodus  in  his  records 
by  saying: 

“June  30,  1636.  Mr.  Hooker,  pastor  of  the  church 
of  New  Town,  and  the  most  of  his  congregation  went  to 
Connecticut.  His  wife  was  carried  in  a  horse-litter. 
And  they  drove  an  hundred  and  sixty  cattle,  and  fed  of 
their  milk  by  the  way.” 

This  throng  of  early  travellers,  like  their  predecessors 
of  the  previous  year,  moved  through  the  wilderness  along 
the  famous  Indian  trail  afterward  to  become  known  as 
the  Old  Connecticut  Path,  and  they  established  new 
homes  on  the  present  sites  of  Hartford,  Windsor  and 
Wethersfield.  The  trail  after  leaving  New  Town  pro¬ 
ceeded  in  a  general  western  or  southwestern  direction, 
and,  passing  through  the  locations  of  the  present  towns 
of  Marlborough,  Grafton  and  Oxford,  came  at  last  to 
the  future  site  of  Springfield,  on  the  river  which  was 
the  travellers’  goal.  Hooker’s  expedition  also  spent  two 
weeks  in  marching  through  the  woods,  and  though  its 
members  were  compelled  to  ford  many  streams  and  push 
their  way  through  dense  thickets  and  swamps  under 
the  burden  of  their  packs,  they  experienced  no  extreme 

32 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


suffering.  The  Indians  were  friendly.  It  was  simply 
a  matter  of  resolution,  perseverance  and  hard  work. 

While  these  things  were  going  on  the  Dutch  had 
sincerely  repented  their  hearty  recommendation  of  the 
region  to  the  English  and  did  all  they  could,  short  of  the 
use  of  actual  force,  to  prevent  its  occupation.  But  it 
was  too  late.  The  English  refused  to  be  frightened  by  the 
pointing  of  blunderbusses  and  the  tooting  of  admonitory 
trumpets.  They  discovered  to  their  surprise  that  Van  Twil- 
ler  had  told  them  the  truth;  kept  coming;  and  when  they 
got  there,  remained.  For  a  time  the  Dutch  remained  also, 
in  a  state  of  dignified  indignation,  and  then  went  away. 

Such  was  the  manner  of  travel  at  that  time.  As  years 
went  by  the  movements  of  the  population  gradually 
increased  in  number,  covered  wider  areas  and  extended 
over  greater  distances,  especially  in  the  North.  There 
was  one  common  aspect  of  them,  natural  to  such  a  newly 
and  thinly  settled  country,  that  persisted  for  about  a  cen¬ 
tury.  The  people  travelled  in  groups  or  companies,  just 
as  they  were  later  to  do  in  the  settlement  of  the  Northwest 
Territory  and  still  later  in  their  progress  across  the  plains 
of  the  far  West.  Individual  travel  did  not  exist  save  for 
short  distances  until  close  to  the  year  1700. 

Many  definitely  organized  migrations  similar  to  the 
one  from  Massachusetts  to  Connecticut  followed  it  in  all 
parts  of  the  colonies  during  the  next  hundred  years.  They 
were  in  fact  a  feature  of  the  period.  During  the  same 
year  that  witnessed  the  Hooker  pilgrimage  a  small  com¬ 
pany  went  northward  from  Massachusetts  to  what  is  now 
Exeter,  in  New  Hampshire,  and  still  another  Bay  State 
party  moved  to  the  vicinity  of  Dover,  New  Hampshire, 
to  find  a  new  home.  Roger  Williams  also  made  his  winter 
journey  of  fourteen  weeks  through  the  wilderness  in  1636, 

33 


i 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 

and  in  his  wanderings  to  the  spot  where  the  city  of 
Providence  now  stands  he  was  fed,  sheltered  and  kindly 
treated  by  the  Indians.  Others  soon  followed  him  to  the 
same  locality.  The  number,  extent  and  importance  of  the 
early  journeys  made  by  organized  bodies  of  the  popula- 


10. — Nearly  all  extensive  travelling  for  a  century  and  a  half  was  undertaken 
by  large  parties  moving  together.  Sometimes  the  women  and  children 
were  carried  in  horse-litters.  Many  pedestrian  caravans  moved  through  the 
forest  between  such  widely  separated  localities  as  New  England  and  the 
Carolinas. 

tion  from  one  part  of  the  country  to  another  can  best  be 
shown,  perhaps,  in  a  chronological  list,  and  a  record  of 
that  sort,  exclusive  of  those  already  mentioned  and  doubt- 
less  far  from  complete,  is  here  given: 

1638. — Several  companies  left  Massachusetts  and  jour¬ 
neyed  to  Quinnipiac  (now  New  Haven,  Connecticut). 

34 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


1639. — Milford  and  Guilford,  in  Connecticut,  were  simi¬ 
larly  settled. 

1639.  — Parties  of  Dutch  left  New  Amsterdam  and  occu¬ 
pied  distant  points  along  the  Hudson  River. 

1640.  — Settlers  from  New  England  proceeded  to  Long 
Island  and  established  themselves  at  Southampton. 

1642. — Emigrants  from  New  Haven  colony  went  to  Del¬ 
aware  Bay,  bought  a  tract  of  land  at  Burlington  from 
the  Indians  and  settled  on  the  Delaware  River.  On 
their  arrival  they  lived  for  a  time  in  the  cow  houses  of 
Swedes  who  had  preceded  them. 

1642.- — Another  party  from  New  Haven  moved  to  the 
Delaware  Bay  region,  bought  lands  from  the  natives  on 
the  Schuylkill  River  and  began  to  establish  themselves 
there. 

1653. — A  company  went  from  Virginia  into  what  is  now 
North  Carolina,  stopped  near  the  Chowan  River  and 
began  the  Albemarle  settlement.  Some  Quakers  were 
in  this  body  of  emigrants. 

1655.  — Jamaica,  on  Long  Island,  was  established  by  peo¬ 
ple  who  travelled  down  from  New  England. 

1656.  — Many  Dutch  removed  from  New  Amsterdam  to 
the  settlements  on  Delaware  Bay. 

1660. — A  number  of  New  England  people  went  to  North 
Carolina,  bought  lands  of  Indians  on  Cape  Fear  River 
and  settled  there.  They  did  not  like  the  location,  how¬ 
ever,  and  left. 

1665. — A  body  of  emigrants  from  New  Hampshire  jour¬ 
neyed  to  the  Raritan  River,  in  New  Jersey. 

1665. — From  Milford,  Guilford  and  Bramford,  in  New 
Haven  colony,  a  considerable  party  set  out  and  went 
to  the  present  neighborhood  of  Newark,  New  Jersey. 

35 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


1665. — A  company  of  settlers  from  Newbury,  in  Massa¬ 
chusetts,  established  themselves  on  the  Raritan  River,  in 
New  Jersey.  These  three  last  named  migrations  were 
the  result  of  a  systematic  campaign  made  by  agents  of 
New  Jersey  in  New  England,  where  they  were  sent  to 
praise  the  country  and  get  immigrants. 

1671. — A  group  of  Dutch  from  New  York  settled  along 
the  Ashley  River,  in  the  Carolinas. 

1682  to  1690. — Large  parties  from  Virginia,  Maryland, 
New  York,  Massachusetts,  Connecticut  and  other  col¬ 
onies  travelled  to  the  Delaware  River  region  and  settled 
in  the  new  colony  of  Pennsylvania  and  the  town  of 
Philadelphia. 

1732. — People  living  on  the  Potomac  River,  in  Virginia, 
began  to  move  over  the  mountains  to  the  valley  of  the 
Shenandoah. 

1737. — A  party  of  a  hundred  Potomac  families  journeyed 
through  this  last  named  region  and  settled  near  the 
present  towns  of  Winchester  and  Strasburg. 

1725-1740. — A  steady  stream  of  emigration  travelled 
from  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  into  North  Carolina. 

1735-1740. — Similar  groups  from  Virginia  and  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  moved  into  South  Carolina. 

These  were  not  the  trifling  shifts  for  short  distances, 
such  as  were  also  going  on  during  the  constant  establish¬ 
ment  of  new  farms  and  new  settlements  near  older  ones. 
They  were  long  and  pretentious  travels,  often  for  hun¬ 
dreds  of  miles,  calling  for  careful  and  elaborate  prepara¬ 
tion,  the  breaking  up  of  homes  and  the  enduring  of  many 
trials.  They  were  the  first  manifestations  of  the  restless 
desire  for  movement  and  change,  the  somewhere-else  feel¬ 
ing,  that  has  ever  since  been  a  characteristic  of  the  native 

36 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


born  American.  Through  them  and  similar  early  migra¬ 
tions,  accomplished  on  foot  or  by  the  aid  of  boats  and  a 
few  horses,  marked  by  hardships  and  sometimes  ending 
in  disaster  or  disappointment,  a  better  knowledge  of  the 
condition  and  character  of  the  country  was  gradually 
obtained  by  the  population. 


CHAPTER  IV 


POLE-BOATS  AND  THE  MANNER  OF  THEIR  NAVIGATION  — 
INCREDIBLE  LABOR  PERFORMED  IN  USING  THEM  — 
THE  INFLUENCE  OF  CONNECTICUT  —  BEGINNING  THE 
SYSTEMATIC  TRANSFORMATION  OF  INDIAN  TRAILS 
INTO  CRUDE  ROADS  —  EARLY  FERRIES  AROUND  BOSTON 
AND  NEW  YORK  —  SEDAN  CHAIRS  —  THE  FIRST 
HORSE  VEHICLES  AND  THEIR  TRIUMPH  OVER  PURI¬ 
TAN  PREJUDICE  —  LAWS  AGAINST  TRAVEL  —  THE 
INTRODUCTION  AND  EQUIPMENT  OF  SLEDS  —  TRAVEL 
IN  WINTER  —  RESULT  OF  THE  FOUNDING  OF  PHILA¬ 
DELPHIA —  THE  EVOLUTION  OF  THE  OLD  INDIAN 
TRAIL  ACROSS  NEW  JERSEY  —  LONG  HORSEBACK 
JOURNEYS  BECOME  POSSIBLE  —  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 
MISTRESS  KNIGHT  OF  BOSTON 

TWO  of  the  earliest  types  of  river  boats  that  followed 
the  canoe,  as  the  needs  of  the  growing  settlements 
became  greater,  were  probably  first  used  by  the  pioneers 
on  the  Connecticut  River.  Both  sorts  of  craft  with  slight 
modifications  were  widely  adopted  in  various  regions, 
particularly  where  the  streams  were  rapid  or  shallow,  and 
were  common  throughout  the  country  until  after  the  year 
1800. 

One  was  called  a  pole-boat,  from  the  means  by  which 
it  was  propelled  up-stream.  Usually  made  of  planks 
hewed  from  the  pine,  it  was  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet 
long,  three  to  five  feet  wide,  some  two  or  three  feet  deep, 

38 


f 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


pointed  at  both  ends,  and  had  a  flat  bottom.  Even  when 
heavily  laden  it  was  serviceable  in  less  than  a  foot  of  water. 
Such  a  boat  was  navigated  down  a  stream  by  means  of 
oars  or  poles  with  almost  no  effort,  but  going  back  up¬ 
stream,  especially  against  a  rapid  current,  was  a  far  dif¬ 
ferent  matter.  The  crew  —  exclusive  of  steersman  — 
consisted  of  four,  six  or  eight  men,  according  to  the  size 
of  the  craft,  and  each  man  was  armed  with  a  long,  stout 
pole  made  of  ash  or  hickory,  with  a  heavy,  wrought  iron 
spike  at  one  end.  There  were  two  methods  of  propulsion. 
With  an  equal  number  of  men  standing  on  each  side  of 
the  boat,  as  near  to  the  bow  as  possible  and  facing  the 
stern,  they  would  plant  their  spikes  in  the  bottom  of  the 
stream  at  an  angle,  and  with  the  upper  end  of  each  man’s 
pole  against  his  shoulder  they  would  all  walk  as  far 


11. — Early  types  of  river  boats  used  by  families  on  long  journeys.  They  probably 
originated  on  the  Connecticut  and  Delaware  Rivers.  The  ark,  or  flatboat, 
varied  somewhat  in  form,  was  built  of  heavy  timbers,  and  was  rarely 
navigated  against  the  current.  The  barge,  a  lighter  vessel  with  canoe-like 
lines,  was  pushed  up-stream  by  poles.  At  first  the  barge  was  called  a  keel- 
boat  and  had  no  covered  shelter. 


39 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


toward  the  stem  as  possible.1  By  so  doing  they  pushed 
the  boat  out  from  under  their  feet  in  an  up-stream  direc¬ 
tion  and  propelled  it,  with  each  repetition  of  the  process, 
nearly  a  boat’s  length.  Two  men  would  then  hold  the 
distance  gained  until  the  others  hurried  back  to  the  bow 
and  planted  their  poles  in  the  bottom  again.  The  second 
method  of  advancing  consisted  in  facing  the  bow  of  the 
boat  with  the  workers  in  two  stationary  groups,  one  near 
the  bow  and  the  other  near  the  stern.  The  groups  would 
push  on  their  poles  alternately,  with  a  helmsman  to  correct 
the  zigzag  impulse.  The  labor  necessary  for  ascending  a 
rapid  river  in  either  of  these  ways  was  so  great  as  to  be 
beyond  exaggeration,  yet  it  was  constantly  accomplished 
over  long  distances,  and  the  method  remained  in  wide 
fashion  for  very  many  years.  Men  took  it  for  granted 
there  was  nothing  else  to  do,  and  that  the  same  conditions 
would  always  prevail. 

The  other  type  of  early  river  boat  was  substantially  a 
duplicate,  in  form  and  material,  of  the  one  just  described. 
It  was,  however,  about  twice  as  long  and  wide,  and 
equipped  with  a  mast  and  sails.  When  going  against  the 
wind  the  sails  were  dropped  and  poles  were  used,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  smaller  vessel. 

The  obstruction  in  the  river  shown  in  the  illustration, 
and  through  which  the  larger  boat  is  being  guided  with 
care  and  difficulty,  is  not  a  natural  formation.  It  is  an 
ancient  fish-dam,  built  by  the  Indians  with  boulders  gath¬ 
ered  from  the  bed  and  banks  of  the  river.  In  the  center  of 
such  a  contrivance  the  Indians  left  an  opening  about  six 
or  eight  feet  wide,  and  below  this  gap  they  constructed, 
with  woven  roots,  willow  branches  and  such  material,  a 

'  i 

1  They  moved  back  and  forth  on  narrow  wooden  runways,  about  ten  inches  wide, 
that  were  built  on  each  side  of  the  boat  for  the  purpose. 

40 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


great  basket-like  enclosure  that  reached  down-stream  a 
dozen  feet,  and  was  tightly  joined  at  each  end  to  the  dam. 
When  food  was  needed  a  large  number  of  the  red  men 
would  enter  the  water  and  form  in  line  across  the  stream 


12. — Two  keel-boats  ascending  a  river.  Those  of  large  size  carried  masts,  and 
used  sails  whenever  possible.  The  curved  obstruction  in  the  stream,  with 
an  opening  in  the  center,  is  not  a  natural  formation  but  an  Indian  fish-dam 
built  of  boulders. 


about  half  a  mile  above  their  trap  and  wade  slowly  down, 
kicking  and  beating  the  water  with  sticks  as  they  moved. 
The  frightened  fish  fleeing  before  them  would  finally  en¬ 
counter  the  dam  and  be  converged  by  it  to  the  opening, 
through  which  they  would  rush  into  the  woven  sack  to  be 
scooped  out  by  thousands.  In  this  way  did  the  Indian 
often  do  his  fishing,  much  to  the  embarrassment  of  future 
white  navigators.  Several  of  these  early  stone  fish-dams 
still  exist  in  the  upper  reaches  of  Tippecanoe  River,  in 
northern  Indiana,  just  as  they  were  built  by  the  Pota- 
watomi. 

But  Connecticut’s  most  important  contribution  to  the 

41 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


progress  of  those  primitive  days  did  not  lie  so  much  in 
the  devising  of  methods  of  travel  as  it  did  in  the  remarka¬ 
ble  way  in  which  her  people  wandered  over  the  face  of 
the  land.  They  went  everywhere,  until  at  last  their  uni¬ 
versal  presence  became  a  proverb  in  the  mouths  of  the 
people.  Any  stranger,  any  new  settler  in  a  community, 
was  dubbed  a  “Connecticut  Yankee,”  and  the  chances 
were  that  the  guess  was  a  good  one.  From  those  few 
square  miles  there  went  forth  a  pioneer  influence  that  was 
always  strong,  and  sometimes  decisive,  in  shaping  the 
affairs  of  new  regions.  The  Susquehanna  River  valley  in 
Pennsylvania,  eastern  Long  Island,  western  Massachu¬ 
setts,  northern  New  Jersey,  western  Vermont,  central  and 
western  New  York  and  at  a  later  date  the  Western  Re¬ 
serve  of  Ohio  all  were  swayed  or  powerfully  affected,  in 
their  beginnings,  by  Connecticut  migrations.  There  is  a 
legend  which  says  that  at  one  time  the  natives  of  Con¬ 
necticut  and  graduates  of  Yale  College  lacked  but  five  of 
constituting  an  actual  majority  of  the  National  Congress.1 

By  the  year  1683  the  towns  of  Boston  and  New  York 
and  the  new  settlement  of  Philadelphia  had  become  so 
bustling  and  important  that  travel  from  one  to  another 
was  a  common  thing,  and  necessity  began  to  urge  the 
making  of  such  land  highways  between  them  as  would 
permit  of  regular  traffic.  Indian  trails  and  paths  made 
by  settlers  already  linked  the  three  centers  with  a  route 
passable  over  a  part  of  its  extent  by  horses,  though  most  of 
the  travel  from  any  one  of  the  towns  to  another  was  still 
accomplished  by  boat.  In  the  cities  some  of  the  wealthy  and 
governing  classes  had  been  using  sedan  chairs  for  a  long 
time,  and  a  few  private  coaches  of  various  sorts  had  begun 
to  appear.  Boston  and  New  York,  because  of  the  numer- 

1  The  saying  is  sometimes  attributed  to  Calhoun. 

42 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


13. — A  bill  submitted  to  Massachusetts  Bay  Province  by  Ferryman  John  Knight 
of  Boston,  in  1709,  asking  payment  for  services  rendered  to  the  Sheraft, 
military  officers  and  other  officials  during  the  preceding  three  years.  He 
asked  £6,  3s,  and  was  allowed  £ 3 ,  Is,  6d,  or  just  half  the  amount  requested. 

ous  smaller  settlements  situated  on  the  waters  all  around 
them,  had  also  grappled  with  the  problem  of  ferry  facili¬ 
ties  for  the  primeval  suburbanites  who  lived  near  by. 

In  Massachusetts  Bay  the  business  of  ferrying  was 
given  into  the  hands  of  watermen  who  used  big  barge¬ 
like  boats  capable  of  carrying  horses  and  goods  as  well  as 
men.  One  of  these  ferry  owners  was  a  certain  John 
Knight,  and  a  bill  rendered  by  him  for  work  performed  is 
herein  reproduced.  It  indicates  that  he  had  allowed  the 

43 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


account  to  run  for  more  than  two  years,  since  the  first 
entry,  for  ferrying  “a  Sheraft  and  33  of  his  men”  is  dated 
in  August  of  1706,  and  the  last,  for  transporting  “John 
Bunker,  6  Indians  and  1  horse”  has  the  date  of  January, 
1709.  The  total  bill  was  but  six  pounds  and  three  shill¬ 
ings,  or  about  thirty  dollars.  Ferryman  Knight  duly  pre¬ 
sented  his  account  to  the  authorities,  and  owing  to  the 
scarcity  of  paper  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
colony  used  the  other  side  of  the  bill  itself  for  the  formal 
engrossment  of  its  action  thereon.  The  resolution,  duly 
signed  by  the  Speaker  and  Secretary  of  the  House,  shows 


14. — The  flatboat  with  a  sail  is  one  of  the  first  city  ferry  boats,  like  those  used 
in  New  York,  Boston,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore  and  other 
coast  towns  until  about  1800. 


that  Knight  was  allowed  for  his  work  the  sum  of  “three 
pounds,  one  shilling  and  six  pence,”  or  exactly  one-half 
of  the  amount  called  for  by  his  bill. 

The  ferries  in  use  on  the  waters  around  New  York 

44 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


City,  or  some  of  them  at  least,  were  similar  barges, 
equipped  with  sails.  Such  was  the  ferry  boat  to  Brook¬ 
lyn.  Owing  to  the  strong  tides  and  currents  and  the 
squalls  of  wind  for  which  the  bay  has  always  been  noted, 
many  capsizings  and  other  accidents  in  which  men  and 
beasts  were  sometimes  drowned,  attended  the  history  of 
the  early  New  York  ferries. 

The  sedan  chairs  in  which  certain  of  the  wealthy  peo¬ 
ple  and  official  classes  were  accustomed  to  travel  about  the 
towns  were  commonly  carried  by  servants,  though  vehicles 
of  a  type  resembling  the  one  made  for  Pastor  Hooker’s 
wife,  and  borne  by  a  single  horse,  were  also  in  use.  Such 
things  as  sedan  chairs  were  distinctly  an  importation  —  in 
idea  at  least  —  from  Europe,  though  they  were  used  in 
America  for  a  long  time,  chiefly  in  New  York  and  Phila¬ 
delphia.  Benjamin  Franklin  rode  in  a  sedan  chair,  on 
occasions,  as  late  as  the  year  1789.  One  of  the  earliest  of 
them  in  English  America  was  that  which  belonged  to 
Governor  Winthrop,  of  Massachusetts  Bay  colony.  It 
was  a  rich  and  magnificent  specimen,  originally  made  at 
the  order  of  a  viceroy  of  Mexico  and  intended  for  some 
dignitary  in  Spain.  It  was  found  on  a  Spanish  galleon 
captured  by  the  English  and  by  them  presented  to  Win¬ 
throp.  He  said,  in  speaking  of  the  gift,  that  he  “had  no 
use  for  it.” 

There  was  more  behind  that  remark  of  Winthrop’s 
than  appears  on  the  surface.  Doubtless  he  would  have 
been  glad  to  move  about  in  comfort  in  the  carved,  silver- 
bedecked  and  silk-upholstered  box,  for  he  was  a  human 
being  after  all,  but  public  opinion  and  the  ruling  spirits 
of  the  church  in  the  Puritan  colony  would  not  have  per¬ 
mitted  such  an  action.  Men  and  women  of  New  England 
were  banished,  or  had  their  ears  cut  ofif,  or  were  hanged 

45 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 

in  those  days  for  offenses  scarce  more  heinous  than  the  use 
of  such  a  devil’s  trap  as  a  gaudy  sedan  chair.  Even  in 
1687,  nearly  fifty  years  afterward,  the  first  horse  coaches 
which  appeared  in  Boston  were  severely  frowned  upon  as 
contrivances  fit  for  this  world  only,  and  their  brazen 
owners  were  subjected  to  scorn  and  derision.  But  the 
shameless  proprietors  of  those  first  vehicles  found  in  the 
possession  of  them  a  solace  that  was  sufficient  recompense 
even  for  social  ostracism.  And,  sad  to  relate,  others  of 
sufficient  wealth  were  also  tempted  and  fell.  The  use  of 
horses  and  coaches  continued,  and  slowly  increased.  Satan 
was  triumphant. 

Outside  the  towns  and  their  immediate  neighborhoods 
the  utility  of  the  first  coaches  was  very  limited  indeed. 
Roads  were  scarcely  worthy  of  the  name,  and  there  were 
no  bridges.  When  a  coach  came  to  a  stream  too  deep  to 
be  forded  it  was  stood  upon  its  wheels  in  two  parallel 
canoes,  and  thus  conveyed  across.  The  horses  swam. 

There  were  three  types  of  the  earliest  American 
wheeled  vehicles.  One  was  patterned  after  the  heavy  and 
cumbrous  two-horse  family  carriage  that  had  just  come 
into  limited  use  in  England.  The  others  were  better 
adapted  to  conditions  in  such  new  country,  and  each  was 
drawn  by  one  horse.  The  first  of  the  Americanized  types 
was  called  a  chair,  and  the  other  a  chaise.  The  chair  was 
a  two-wheeled  vehicle  with  a  seat  for  two,  and  sometimes 
with  an  additional  small  seat,  almost  over  the  shafts,  for 
the  driver.  Of  this  carriage  the  Canadian  caleche  was  a 
variety.  The  chaise  was  simply  a  chair  with  a  covered  top 
of  leather.  None  of  the  earliest  specimens  had  springs,  but 
swung  on  stout  braces  of  wood  or  leather  that  somewhat 
alleviated  the  constant  jolting.  All  were  made  by  local 
blacksmiths  and  wheelwrights,  some  of  whom  built  up 

46 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


reputations  by  the  excellence  of  their  work  and  thus  be¬ 
came  the  first  carriage  makers  of  the  country.  There  was 
not  much  change  in  the  three  types  of  vehicles  for  a  hun- 


15. — The  first  wheeled  vehicles  to  appear  were  a  few  private  coaches,  made 
in  the  large  towns  for  town  use  only,  late  in  the  seventeenth  century.  The 
condition  of  the  roads  did  not  permit  their  employment  elsewhere.  A  dozen 
or  so  vehicles  like  this  existed  in  Boston,  Philadelphia  and  New  York  before 
1700.  They  had  bodies  either  of  wood  or  leather  and  were  generally 
painted  in  bright  colors. 

dred  years  or  more,  except  that  they  gradually  became 
more  ornate  in  their  outward  aspect.  All  through  the 
colonies  a  tendency  toward  the  use  of  brighter  and  still 
brighter  colors,  both  for  personal  wear  and  for  application 
to  miscellaneous  belongings  was  apparent  for  a  long  time. 
This  trait  of  the  people  reached  its  climax  shortly  before 
the  days  of  the  Revolution.  Its  effect  on  vehicles  was  seen 
in  their  brightly-painted  wheels,  their  bodies  of  red,  yel¬ 
low,  blue  or  brown,  with  panels  of  different  hues  and  trim¬ 
mings  to  match.  Especially  was  this  craving  for  warmth 
of  color  observable  in  the  middle  and  southern  colonies. 
And  it  must  have  been  a  dazzling  sight  to  see  such  equi- 

47 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


pages  in  a  festal  hour  with  the  women  in  white  satin  gowns 
and  filmy  shoulder  veils  of  purple  or  emerald  green, 
beside  men  in  lace  ruffles,  blue  coats,  yellow  waistcoats, 
knee  breeches  of  buff,  scarlet  stockings  and  silver  buckles. 

Philadelphia  possessed  about  thirty  carts  and  other 
wheeled  vehicles  in  1697,  and  New  York  also  had  a  num¬ 
ber,  but  the  introduction  of  such  things  did  not  proceed 
with  any  uniformity  throughout  the  country.  In  Con¬ 
necticut,  for  instance,  there  were  no  carriages  until  about 
1750  and  few  until  after  the  Revolution.  When  Governor 
Trumbull  of  Connecticut  visited  the  town  of  Norwich 
during  the  Revolution  he  travelled  in  a  chaise,  and  the 
people  of  the  village  abandoned  their  affairs  with  one 
accord  and  flocked  to  behold  such  an  extraordinary  con¬ 
traption.  No  vehicles  were  used,  or  any  travelling  per¬ 
formed  on  Sunday  in  some  of  the  colonies  until  after  the 
era  of  independence  began.  It  was  prohibited  by  law. 
Sunday,  by  the  statutes,  commenced  at  sunset  of  Satur¬ 
day  and  continued  until  the  same  time  on  the  Sabbath. 
On  one  occasion  a  man  who  was  about  to  resume  his 
horseback  journey  left  his  tavern  on  Sunday  evening, 
stood  beside  the  animal  and  patiently  waited  until  the  sun 
had  retired,  as  he  thought,  for  the  night.  Then  he 
mounted  and  rode  away.  But  a  moment  later  one  last 
brief  gleam  of  sunlight  broke  for  an  instant  from  behind 
the  clouds  and  was  spied  by  a  vigilant  constable.  The 
traveller  was  arrested  and  fined. 

Much  travelling  by  land  was  performed  in  the  winter. 
During  the  spring,  summer-time  and  autumn,  particularly 
in  the  northern  colonies,  a  large  part  of  the  population  was 
busy  in  the  work  necessary  to  an  agricultural,  land-clear¬ 
ing  and  seafaring  community.  But  winter  was  the  time 
for  recreation  and  visiting,  and  for  making  journeys  to 

48 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


towns  where  markets  could  be  found  for  the  sale  of  such 
commodities  as  the  farmer  and  his  family  had  produced. 
In  winter  the  roads  of  the  middle  and  northern  colonies 
were  no  longer  seas  of  mud  with  archipelagos  of  stumps, 
but  were  made  smooth  and  firm  with  a  pavement  spread 
upon  them  from  the  sky.  The  smaller  streams  and  rivers, 
too,  were  turned  to  highways  of  ice  and  were  often  used. 
Sleighs  of  various  crude  and  simple  types  appeared  at  an 
early  date,  and  by  the  year  1700  were  in  general  use.  One 
of  the  commonest  varieties  of  these  vehicles  for  winter 


16. — American  colonial  sleds  were  generally  called  either  pungs  or  pods, 
though  the  Canadian  cariole  was  also  used.  The  pungs  and  pods  ordinarily 
had  an  open  space  between  the  bed  of  the  sled  and  its  runners.  Each 
American  type  also  had  a  shelf-like  extension  of  the  floor  beyond  its  sides 
for  its  whole  length.  Horse-drawn  sleds  preferred  to  travel  on  the  smooth 
surfaces  of  frozen  streams  when  possible. 


travel  was  an  idea  adopted1  from  Canada.  The  Canadians 
spoke  of  it  as  a  cariole,  but  the  people  of  New  England, 
who  have  always  preferred  to  use  home-made  names  for 


1  With  alterations. 


49 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


things,  called  a  sleigh  either  a  pung  or  a  pod,  and  found  it 
just  as  serviceable.  They  were  more  concerned  with  feat¬ 
ures  of  utility  than  with  melodious  nomenclature.  A 
pung  was  drawn  by  two  horses;  a  pod  by  one.  When 
loaded  and  equipped  for  a  long  journey  over  the  snows  a 
pung  must  have  been  an  interesting  spectacle.  In  the 
body  of  the  vehicle  sat  the  farmer’s  wife,  with  maybe  a 
child  or  two,  all  of  them  bundled  up  with  coats,  blankets, 
hoods,  mittens  and  mufflers  against  the  sharp  air.  Around 
them  were  heaped  the  things  they  had  prepared  for  sale 
—  cheeses,  dried  herbs,  bundles  of  knitted  stockings  and 
mittens,  parcels  of  vegetables,  mysterious  jugs,  flax,  and 
all  those  other  primitive  commodities  of  domestic  growth 
or  manufacture  —  until  the  whole  outfit  looked  like  a 
miniature  mountain  on  runners.  As  for  the  man  himself, 
he  trotted  alongside.  There  was  no  room  for  him  on 
board.  And  to  the  side  of  every  departing  pung,  as  the 
chiefest  part  of  its  equipment  for  a  journey,  there  was 
securely  tied  a  huge  round  chunk  of  frozen  porridge 
(bean  porridge,  of  course)  and  a  hatchet  with  which  to 
chop  off  a  chunk  of  it  when  any  of  the  travellers  might  feel 
the  need  of  nourishment. 

No  doubt  this  curious  commissary  department  of  an 
early  New  England  sleigh  throws  a  certain  light  on  that 
famous  old  nursery  rhyme  that  runs: 

“Bean  porridge  hot;  bean  porridge  cold; 

Bean  porridge  in  the  pot,  nine  days  old.” 

Preliminary  to  every  such  trip,  and  a  few  days  before 
it,  the  housewife  would  cook  a  big  pot  of  porridge  and 
then,  setting  it  out-of-doors  in  the  kettle,  would  allow  it 
to  ripen  and  freeze  while  awaiting  the  time  for  the  jour¬ 
ney  to  begin.  There  is  no  present  way  of  finding  out 
whether  the  epicures  of  that  period  considered  nine  days 

50 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


as  the  most  appetizing  age  for  winter  bean  porridge,  but 
of  one  thing  we  may  be  sure ;  it  was  very,  very  cold. 

For  short  winter  trips,  or  whenever  the  snow  was  too 
soft  or  deep  for  horses,  snow-shoes  were  used,  and  the 
traveller  carried  a  staff  at  the  bottom  of  which  was  fixed  a 


&mzt  Srww  in  27/7 


:  r 


17. — Winter  travel  in  the  northern  colonies  was  performed  on  foot,  or  in  sleds 
drawn  by  dogs  or  horses.  The  New  England  winter  pedestrian,  in  addition 
to  his  snow-shoes,  was  equipped  with  a  pole  having  a  large  wooden  disc  at 
its  bottom  for  extra  support. 


wide,  flat  piece  of  wood,  usually  round  or  oval  in  shape, 
as  an  additional  support.  Still  another  means  of  travel 
during  the  winter  season  was  the  dog-sled.  This  method 
of  conveyance  was  copied  from  a  similar  usage  of  the 
Indians,  who  in  times  of  hostility  sometimes  also  employed 
sleds  for  transporting  their  baggage  or  feeble  captives 
through  the  wilderness.  The  dog-sleds  were  small  and 
simple  affairs,  consisting  of  a  flat  base  of  pine  or  spruce 
about  two  feet  wide,  upcurved  in  front,  and  with  room 
for  but  one  person  to  seat  himself.  From  two  to  six 

51 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


dogs  constituted  a  team.  Although  the  dog-sled  never 
came  into  widespread  use  at  any  one  time  or  in  any  given 
locality,  except  in  the  far  North  and  Northwest,  it  never¬ 
theless  persisted  in  various  forms  as  a  vehicle  of  travel  in 
America  for  perhaps  two  hundred  years,  and  is  still  used 
in  Alaska  and  Canada. 

The  establishment  of  the  town  of  Philadelphia  and  its 
rapid  growth  had  exerted  a  decided  influence  on  the  de¬ 
velopment  of  land  travel  in  the  colonies.  By  1690  the 
place  consisted  of  some  six  or  eight  hundred  houses,  peo¬ 
ple  were  journeying  to  it  from  all  other  parts  of  the  coun¬ 
try,  and  there  was  no  longer  any  doubt  that  it  was  on  its 
way  toward  an  assured  greatness.  Three  chief  centers  of 
social  and  commercial  activity  —  New  York,  the  Massa¬ 
chusetts  towns  and  the  settlements  on  the  Delaware  — 
then  existed  in  the  North,  and  it  was  inevitable  that  they 
should  soon  become  linked  by  definite  and  continuous 
land  routes  of  travel.  The  Dutch,  who  had  previously 
held  that  part  of  New  Jersey  between  Amboy  on  New 
York  Bay  and  the  Delaware  River,  abandoned  the  region 
about  the  year  1675.  At  that  time  it  was  still  a  wilderness 
traversed  only  by  Indian  paths  and  but  seldom  crossed 
by  white  men.  The  main  trail  of  the  aborigines  extended 
through  the  territory  from  Elizabethport,  near  New  York 
Bay,  and  proceeding  by  way  of  the  future  settlements  of 
New  Brunswick  and  Trenton,  finally  reached  the  Dela¬ 
ware  River.  Such,  then,  was  the  route  by  which  the 
colonists  travelled  overland  between  New  York  and 
Philadelphia  in  1675.  They  made  the  journey  on  foot 
if  they  went  at  all,  and  under  ordinary  circumstances 
were  from  three  to  five  days  on  the  road. 

It  was  this  path  of  the  Indians  which  was  adopted  as 
the  best  line  for  a  steam  railroad  across  New  Jersey  a  hun- 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


dred  and  sixty  years  afterward,  and  it  was  exactly  above 
the  same  old  historic  travel  route,  two  hundred  and  thirty- 
five  years  afterward,  that  a  flying-man  made  the  first  flight 
on  schedule  time  ever  performed.  On  that  occasion  an 
aeroplane  was  driven  in  an  uninterrupted  journey  from 
New  York  to  Philadelphia  in  an  hour  and  fifty  minutes 
as  announced  in  advance,  or  five  minutes  faster  than  the 
running  time  of  the  swiftest  regular  railroad  train  be¬ 
tween  the  two  cities.1  Such  things,  however,  did  not  abide 
within  the  philosophy  of  the  red  men.  To  them  belongs 
the  credit  of  pointing  out  the  best  paths,  but  we  use  the 
information  in  our  own  peculiar  way.  They  went  be¬ 
neath  the  trees.  We  can  go  above. 

By  about  the  year  1682  the  people  of  the  Delaware 
River  towns  were  beginning  to  open  short  roads  between 
their  various  settlements,  and  the  roads  were  gradually 
followed  by  local  vehicle  traffic  for  small  distances.  The 
few  wagons  or  carts  were  very  crude  and  awkward,  had 
immensely  wide  wheels,  and  were  most  used  in  going  to 
previously  arranged  gatherings  that  were  sure  to  be  at¬ 
tended  by  considerable  numbers  of  people.  The  inhab¬ 
itants  of  Burlington,  for  example,  held  fairs  at  stated  in¬ 
tervals,  to  which  the  inhabitants  of  other  settlements  trav¬ 
elled  in  order  to  buy  or  exchange  commodities  or  to  visit 
friends  and  relatives. 

Little  by  little  the  roads  in  all  settled  parts  of  the  col¬ 
onies  were  extended  by  the  cooperation  of  communities 
and  through  individual  labor,  until  in  a  few  years  con¬ 
tinuous  horseback  journeys  between  Boston  and  Philadel¬ 
phia  were  possible  with  comparative  ease.  But  since  all 
intending  travellers  did  not  own  horses  it  often  happened 
that  a  party  of  four  would  set  out  for  a  common  destina- 

1  Hamilton’s  flight  of  June  13,  1910. 


53 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


tion  with  one  horse.  In  such  a  case  it  was  the  practice  for 
two  to  mount  and  ride  a  couple  of  miles,  leaving  the  others 
to  follow  on  foot.  Then  the  riders  would  dismount,  tie 
the  horse  by  the  roadside  and  continue  on  foot  in  their  turn 
until  the  others,  having  reached  the  animal  and  mounted 
it,  would  overtake  them.  In  that  manner  they  proceeded, 
with  considerable  satisfaction  to  all  concerned  except  the 


.  - 


. 

..  .  -a  :  .  ' 

■  .  ■  ■  «  ;  .... 

■  :  '  :  '  ,  .  :  .  '  , 


' 

' 

'i  ~L  ^  •  X  »■  'v 


/  4  J  i. 


fXDIA  noct  THAI  N . 


- - - - — 


18. — The  dog-sled,  or  Indian  dog  train,  was  used  when  the  snow  was  too  deep 
or  too  soft  to  uphold  horses.  Such  a  sled  was  six  or  seven  feet  long,  and 
its  bottom  was  made  of  smooth  planks.  The  title  on  the  original  engraving 
is  a  misprint. 


fifth  member  of  the  party.  Two  travelling  together  also 
used  the  same  system  if  but  one  horse  was  available.  In 
the  year  1702  a  woman  went  on  horseback  from  Boston  to 
Philadelphia  and  carried  a  baby  in  her  lap  for  the  entire 
distance.  That  was  a  notable  occurrence.  When  a  man 
and  his  wife  rode  one  horse  the  man,  in  a  saddle,  sat  as 
usual,  and  the  woman  was.  perched  behind  him  on  a 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


cushion  called  a  pillion.  The  woman’s  pillion  was 
strapped  to  the  motive  power  of  the  expedition,  and  below 
it,  on  one  side,  was  hun«r  a  narrow  wooden  platform  for 
her  feet. 

A  school-teacher — Mrs.  Knight  —  who  travelled 
from  Boston  to  New  York  on  horseback  in  the  year  1704 
wrote  a  little  book  describing  her  trip,  and  her  nar¬ 
rative  contains  much  interesting  information  regarding 
the  character  and  manners  of  the  people  she  met  on  the 
way,  as  well  as  a  recital  of  the  experiences  which  she  en¬ 
countered.  It  is  related  by  her  that  on  one  occasion  she 
came  to  an  inn  late  at  night,  and  desiring  shelter,  sum¬ 
moned  the  inmates.  Finally  the  landlady  appeared,  but 
instead  of  immediately  bustling  about  to  make  the  guest 
comfortable,  and  postponing  a  manifestation  of  her  inter¬ 
est  in  the  arrival,  she  planted  herself  immovably  on  the 
solid  rock  of  her  feminine  curiosity  and  began: 

“Law  for  me!  What  in  the  world  brings  you  here 
this  time  of  night?  I  never  saw  a  woman  on  the  Rode  so 
Dreadful  late  in  all  my  versall  life!  Who  are  you? 
Where  are  you  going?”  And  so  on.  But  Mrs.  Knight, 
being  a  schoolmistress,  finally  passed  the  examination  and 
got  to  bed. 

On  the  same  trip  she  met  a  man  and  his  daughter, 
riding  on  separate  horses.  The  girl  had  only  a  bag  for 
a  saddle,  and  Mrs.  Knight  heard  her  plaintively  say: 
“Lawful  heart,  father!  This  bare  mare  hurts  me  dingily. 
I’m  dreadful  sore,  I  vow.”  It  was  small  wonder  she  was 
uncomfortable,  for  it  developed  that  she  and  her  father 
had  been  jogging  along  for  thirty  miles. 

Mrs.  Knight  also  gave  her  opinion  of  the  canoe,  whose 
erratic  propensities  as  a  vehicle  filled  her  with  misgivings. 
Coming  to  a  stream  she  was  compelled  to  embark 

55 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


in  one  of  the  craft  for  transportation  to  the  other  side, 
and  she  said  of  it:  “The  Cannoo  was  very  small  and 
shallow,  which  greatly  terrify’d  me  and  caused  me  to  be 
very  circumspect,  sitting  with  my  hands  fast  on  each  side, 
my  eyes  steady,  not  daring  so  much  as  to  lodge  my  tongue 
a  hair’s  breadth  more  on  one  side  of  my  mouth  than 
t’other.  A  very  thought  would  have  oversett  our  wherry.” 

It  is  the  little  incidents  like  these  —  little  bits  from  the 
actual  experiences  of  those  distant  times  —  which  best 
reveal  the  travel  conditions  that  then  prevailed.  But  such  , 
records  are,  unfortunately,  all  too  rare.  It  usually  hap¬ 
pens  in  searching  through  the  narratives  of  early  travel¬ 
lers,  no  matter  in  what  form  they  may  be  found,  that  the 
record  tells  of  leaving  a  certain  place  on  a  certain  day 
and  of  reaching  another  place  in  the  course  of  time,  but 
nothing  else.  Of  the  adventures  and  conditions  encoun¬ 
tered,  the  expedients  and  methods  used  during  the  journey 
there  are  few  details  given,  or  none  at  all. 


CHAPTER  V 


ANOTHER  ELEMENT  IN  THE  PROBLEM  —  EARLY  CONDITIONS 
PROFOUNDLY  INFLUENCED  BY  THE  NATIVE  INHABI¬ 
TANTS —  THE  STRATEGIC  GEOGRAPHICAL  POSITIONS 
HELD  BY  THE  INDIANS  —  THEIR  EARLY  ATTITUDE 
TOWARD  WHITE  MEN  —  NATURE  OF  INDIAN  PROPRIE¬ 
TORSHIP  OVER  LANDS  —  COVETOUSNESS  OF  THE 
WHITES  —  DEVELOPMENT  OF  NATIVE  PREJUDICE  TO¬ 
WARD  ENGLISH  TRAVEL  MOVEMENT  AND  ITS  CAUSES 
—  TREATMENT  OF  EACH  RACE  BY  THE  OTHER  —  A 
CENTURY  AND  A  HALF  OF  CONFLICT  —  BLOCKHOUSES 
—  EFFECT  OF  EUROPEAN  POLITICS  AND  INTERCOLO¬ 
NIAL  JEALOUSIES  —  FIRST  SYMPTOMS  OF  THE  IM¬ 
PENDING  WESTWARD  MOVEMENT  APPEAR  —  THE 
DOMINATION  OF  THE  WHITE  RACE  INEVITABLE 

THUS  far,  while  tracing  the  earliest  growth  of  a 
system  of  internal  communications  destined  to 
develop  from  such  crude  beginnings  into  the  most 
extensive  and  valuable  series  of  public  works  ever  con¬ 
structed  by  men,  whose  relation  to  the  national  life 
has  finally  become  one  of  the  principal  social  and  indus¬ 
trial  problems  at  present  existing,  it  has  only  been  neces¬ 
sary  to  consider  the  primitive  needs  of  our  forefathers 
and  the  first  devices  created  or  adapted  to  meet  those 
necessities. 

But  the  growth  of  the  white  man’s  travel  system  in 
America  and  his  subjugation  of  the  continent  by  its  use 

57 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


was,  in  its  first  stages,  a  matter  of  somewhat  more  com¬ 
plexity  than  has  as  yet  been  suggested.  Progress  in  the 
early  days  did  not  depend  solely  on  the  creation  and  exten¬ 
sion  of  thoroughfares  and  the  successive  introduction  of 
new  and  better  types  of  vehicles.  There  was  yet  another 
element  in  the  problem,  one  that  exerted  a  strong  and  at 
times  decisive  influence  for  generations.  That  factor  was 
the  Indian.  And  since  no  complete  picture  of  the  white 
man’s  aspiration  for  movement  and  of  the  travel  conditions 
that  existed  until  comparatively  recent  days  can  be  drawn 
without  introducing  the  native  occupants  and  original 
owners  of  the  territory  involved,  it  is  well  to  turn  for  a 
time  from  the  primary  question  of  routes  and  vehicles  in 
order  to  observe  why —  and  to  what  degree  —  the  popu¬ 
lation  movements  of  early  times  were  influenced  by  the 
white  man’s  copper-colored  antagonist. 

The  Indians  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  continent,  when 
the  first  permanent  white  men’s  settlements  were 
made  in  that  region,  had  seemingly  occupied  the  land, 
unaffected  by  any  outside  or  visiting  influence  of  im¬ 
portance,  for  several  thousands  of  years.  They  had 
perhaps  been  here,  slowly  ascending  from  a  very  primi¬ 
tive  level,  since  that  period  when  mastodons  were  com¬ 
mon,  when  Niagara  Falls  did  not  exist,1  and  possibly 
even  since  the  time  when  Lakes  Erie  and  Ontario,  as  one 
body  of  water,  had  their  drainage  westwardly  through  the 
Wabash  River,  thence  into  the  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi. 
Collectively  these  native  Americans  had  held  undis¬ 
puted  possession  of  the  continent,  and  with  the  lapse 
of  many  centuries  the  various  tribes  into  which  the 
race  had  broken  up  had  acquired,  in  a  certain  sense,  rec¬ 
ognized  title  to  the  territories  they  severally  held. 

1  About  seven  thousand  to  ten  thousand  years  ago. 

58 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


Such  titles  were  not  the  precise  recorded  legal  instruments 
of  white  civilization,  but  were  established  or  altered 
by  occupation,  treaties  and  strength  of  arms,  and 
were  maintained  by  cooperative  action  based  on  tribal 
government  or  by  the  still  more  powerful  joint  action 
of  federations  of  tribes.  Regions  so  held  were  some¬ 
times  roughly  bounded  by  natural  lines  such  as  moun¬ 
tains,  lakes,  or  conspicuous  landmarks,  and  —  howsoever 
delimited  —  the  adjoining  tribes,  save  in  time  of  war, 
respected  the  territorial  rights  or  pretensions  of  their 
neighbors.  Sometimes  a  region  was  made  neutral  by 
the  tacit  or  formal  agreement  of  many  tribes  and  used 
by  them  for  a  common  purpose,  such  as  hunting.  The 
lands  lying  in  the  present  state  of  Kentucky  were  an  un¬ 
inhabited  territory,  so  rich  in  game  that  no  tribe  was 
allowed  their  exclusive  control.  In  short,  the  use, 
dominion  over  and  occupancy  of  land  and  favorable 
locations  was  a  subject  on  which  the  Indians  placed  a  high 
importance. 

Themselves  accustomed  to  great  distances  and  long 
journeys,  the  Indians  had,  as  has  been  suggested,  an 
unerring  appreciation  of  the  importance  of  good  lines  of 
communication  and  the  best  and  easiest  travel  routes. 
The  strongest  and  most  influential  tribes  and  confedera¬ 
tions  lived  on  or  near  important  rivers,  bays  or  lakes,  or 
in  territory  that  offered  the  easiest  means  of  subsistence 
and  travel.  The  Indians  were  economic  strategists. 
When  the  white  men  came  they  found  the  natives  were 
established  in  those  localities  that  seemed  most  desirable 
for  white  settlement.  The  red  men  had  already  seen  the 
advantages  of  such  locations  as  Delaware  and  Chesapeake 
Bays,  the  Delaware^  Susquehanna  and  Potomac  Rivers, 
New  York  harbor,  the  Hudson  and  Connecticut  Rivers, 

59 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


Massachusetts  Bay,1  and  the  easily  traversed  route, 
through  what  is  now  New  York  state,  from  the  upper 
Hudson  to  the  westward  by  way  of  the  Great  Lakes.  This 
last  mentioned  region  was  occupied  by  the  most  powerful 
and  best  organized  group  of  Indians  in  eastern  North 
America,  the  League  of  the  Iroquois,  a  confederation, 


19. — A  horse-barrow.  Crude  home-made  barrows,  carts  and  wagons  slowly 
developed,  outside  the  towns,  wherever  conditions  made  them  useful.  There¬ 
after  they  showed  but  slight  improvement  for  more  than  a  century.  The 
wheels  of  many  barrows  and  carts  consisted  of  solid  sections  of  tree  trunks, 
and  were  from  six  to  twelve  inches  in  width.  Original  sketch  by  the  early 
American  artist,  Joshua  Shaw.  One  of  eleven  recently  found  drawings  by 
the  same  artist,  reproduced  in  these  pages  and  depicting  conditions  of 
pioneer  life  and  travel. 


at  that  time,  of  five  strong  tribes  whose  common  affairs 
were  administered  by  a  central  council  made  up  of  dele¬ 
gates  from  each. 

The  first  human  quality  which  seriously  affected  inter¬ 
course  between  the  natives  and  the  white  strangers  was 
covetousness.  The  newcomers  wanted — and  determined 
to  possess — those  choice  territorial  tidbits  which  the 

1  Modern  names  for  these  localities  are  used,  instead  of  those  given  by  the  natives 
or  early  explorers,  in  order  that  they  may  be  more  quickly  identified.  The  native  name 
for  the  Connecticut  River,  for  instance,  was  “Quinni-tukq-ut,”  or  “Quoneh-ta-cut,”  and 
the  Dutch  called  it  “De  Versche  Riviere.” 

60 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


Indians  equally  esteemed  as  desirable  regions  for  habita¬ 
tion.  At  once  began  the  long  history  of  negotiation,  treaty 
and  purchase,  inevitable  as  a  phenomenon  of  human 
progress  but  too  often  defiled  by  the  sordidness  of  power, 
by  which  the  country  passed  piecemeal  into  the  possession 
of  the  white  race.  It  is  true  the  newcomers  acknowledged 
that  ownership  of  the  lands  was  vested  in  the  native  occu¬ 
pants,  and  that  they  usually  paid  for  the  territories,  in 
a  technical  sense,  under  terms  of  formal  purchase.  But 
it  was  the  white  men  who  demanded  to  buy.1  It  was 
the  white  men  who  fixed  the  purchase  price,  and 
the  red  men  who  realized  what  refusal  would  mean. 
The  occupation  of  continents  and  the  sway  of  white  skins 
over  dark  skins  is  determined  by  laws  not  passed  by  legis¬ 
latures.  The  unfortunate  effect  upon  the  red  men  of  the 
process  by  which  they  were  stripped  of  their  possessions 
was  the  speedy  creation  of  a  hostility  —  always  existent 
thereafter  in  at  least  a  passive  sense  and  often  fanned  into 
warfare  by  imposition  or  pressure  upon  them  —  toward 
the  movements  of  the  white  men.  For  the  Indians  soon 
saw  that  much  white  travel  resulted  in  more  demands  to 
buy  land,  more  purchases,  permanent  white  occupation 
and  a  curtailment  of  their  own  territory  and  natural  means 
of  subsistence.  The  presence  of  white  men  meant  the 
absence  of  game,  and  Indian  poverty. 

That  conception  of  the  red  man  which  has  been 
summed  up  in  the  ethnological  proverb,  “The  only  good 
Indian  is  a  dead  Indian,”  runs  somewhat  wide  of  the 
truth.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  in  the  early  days 
of  their  association  with  the  English  speaking  colonists, 
the  native  Americans  compared  rather  favorably  with 
the  strangers  in  the  exhibition  of  those  human  qualities 

1  Reference  is  made  to  the  English  speaking  colonies  and  colonists. 

61 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


that  inspire  confidence  and  serve  to  distinguish  honor 
and  fair  dealing  from  duplicity.  When  an  Indian  and 
a  white  man  were  about  to  engage  in  a  transaction  in¬ 
volving  something  of  value  owned  by  the  native  and 
coveted  by  the  Caucasian,  it  was  for  a  long  time  a  com¬ 
mon  custom  to  make  the  Indian  drunk  as  a  preliminary 
to  the  negotiation.  Peter  Kalm,  in  his  Voyage  to  North 
America,  refers  to  this  practise,  and  says:  “Many  per¬ 
sons  have  assured  me  that  the  Indians  are  frequently 
cheated  in  disposing  of  their  goods,  especially  when  they 
are  in  liquor,  and  that  sometimes  they  do  not  get  one- 
half  or  one-tenth  of  the  value  of  their  goods.  I  have 
been  witness  to  several  transactions  of  this  kind.”1 

When  a  white  man  had  a  just  grievance  against  a 
native  and  the  attention  of  the  offending  Indian’s  tribe 
was  called  to  the  matter,  the  chiefs  of  his  clan  compelled 
the  culprit  to  make  restitution  and  often  visited  upon  him 
a  severe  penalty.2  The  Iroquois  held  deceit  in  such  ab¬ 
horrence  that  on  some  occasions  they  punished  lying 
with  the  penalty  of  death.  Among  the  early  colonists 
the  personal  accountability  code  of  the  Indians  was  not 
looked  upon  with  favor  for  use  in  dealing  with  offenders 
of  the  white  race.  As  a  consequence  the  estimation  in 
which  the  newcomers  were  held  by  the  natives  was  low¬ 
ered.  Under  normal  conditions,  and  in  dealing  with 
colonists  who  did  not  impose  on  them,  the  Indians  as  a 
race  were  hospitable  and  kind  to  the  limit  of  their  oppor¬ 
tunities.  In  their  sight,  at  first,  a  white  man  was  pre- 

1  An  Indian  once  said  to  Sir  William  Johnson  (England’s  agent  in  dealing  with  the 
northern  natives):  “You  English  buy  territory  by  the  use  of  the  bottle.’’ 

“With  liquor  as  the  bartering  medium,  nothing  could  save  the  Indian  from  wrong.” 
— Winsor,  in  “The  Westward  Movement.” 

2  This  attitude  of  the  natives  gradually  ceased.  The  authorities  of  the  colonies  got  into 
the  habit  of  disowning  the  white  trouble-makers  along  the  border,  and  of  disavowing  re¬ 
sponsibility  for  their  unfair  or  unlawful  acts.  Trespassers  on  Indian  lands  sometimes  com¬ 
mitted  their  outrages  at  such  a  distance  from  the  hand  of  authority  that  it  was  impossible 
to  catch  the  culprits  even  if  the  desire  to  do  so  existed.  So  the  natives  followed  the 
example  of  the  whites,  and  took  frhe  same  position. 

62 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


sumed  to  be  a  good  man,  kindly  disposed.  If  he  proved 
himself  to  be  bad,  that  was  another  matter.  There  were 
bad  men  on  both  sides.  But  the  Indian  had  to  prove 
himself,  against  open  prejudice,  to  be  good.  Occasion¬ 
ally  and  after  long  effort  he  was  successful,  but  it  was 
a  hard  matter  at  best,  and  from  the  chronicles  that  have 
come  down  from  those  times  it  is  apparent  that  such 
attempts  on  his  part,  even  when  sincere  and  justified  by 
the  facts,  failed  more  often  than  they  succeeded. 

One  of  the  best  records  of  the  relative  viewpoints 
from  which  each  race  regarded  the  other  lies  in  the  words 
spoken  to  Conrad  Weiser,  an  early  traveller,  by  Canas- 
satego,  the  Onondaga  chief  who  was  his  host.  “If  a 
white  man  in  travelling  through  our  country,”  said  the 
savage  to  the  civilized  man,  “enters  one  of  our  cabins, 
we  treat  him  as  I  do  you.  We  dry  him,  if  he  is  wet;  we 
warm  him,  if  he  is  cold;  and  give  him  meat  and  drink 
that  he  may  allay  his  hunger  and  thirst,  and  we  spread 
soft  furs  for  him  to  rest  and  sleep  on.  We  demand  noth¬ 
ing  in  return.  But  if  I  go  into  a  white  man’s  house  and 
ask  for  victuals  and  drink,  they  say,  ‘Where  is  your 
money?’  and  if  I  have  none  they  say,  ‘Get  out,  you  Indian 
dog.’  ”  Whatever  value  Canassatego’s  words  may  have 
as  a  possible  illumination  of  Indian  character  does  not 
lie  in  the  manner  of  their  utterance  but  in  the  philosophy 
that  inspired  them.  Few  Indians  could  have  spoken  thus, 
but  there  is  much  evidence  to  indicate  that  the  Indians  as 
a  race  felt  as  he  did,  until  their  character  and  attitude, 
in  so  far  as  relations  with  white  men  were  concerned,  were 
much  changed  by  long  brooding  on  imposition  and  the 
impending  wreck  of  their  birthright. 

The  things  that  resulted  in  enmity  between  the  red 
men  and  the  white  are  not  hard  to  define.  They  were  a 

63 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 

failure  by  the  bulk  of  the  newcomers  to  understand  the 
viewpoint  of  the  natives  with  respect  to  the  ownership  of 
the  country  and  the  effect  of  white  men’s  presence  in  it, 
and  the  display,  on  the  part  of  the  strangers,  of  motives 
and  methods  that  antagonized  both  the  philosophy  and 
material  interests  of  the  original  inhabitants.  Whenever 
it  happened,  in  the  earlier  days  of  their  association,  that 
a  white  man  treated  his  Indian  neighbors  as  decent  fellow 
men,  and  not  as  dangerous  creatures  that  should  be  re¬ 
moved  from  the  face  of  nature,  such  a  white  man  was 
esteemed  as  a  friend.  Accounts  of  the  early  troubles 
between  the  races,  having  all  been  prepared  and  handed 
down  by  one  party  to  the  controversies,  can  be  depended 
on  as  reliable  and  conservative  whenever  they  give  praise 
to  the  opposition.  And  narratives  of  the  sort,  written 
by  colonists,  contain  the  record  —  sometimes  by  inference 
and  sometimes  frankly  —  of  native  traits  such  as  are  here 
outlined.  In  later  years,  unhappily,  a  white  man  was 
often  considered  to  be  an  enemy  simply  because  he  was 
white,  just  as  a  colonist  looked  on  an  Indian  as  an  enemy 
because  he  was  an  Indian. 

Civilization  in  its  final  aspect  is  not  demonstrated  by 
the  possession  and  operation  of  railroads,  steamboats  and 
flying  machines.  We  may  with  safety  say,  despite  a  con¬ 
siderable  lingering  impression  to  the  contrary,  that  further 
and  greater  progress  can  be  made  by  the  use  of  more 
intangible  elements  than  these.  The  Indians  had  not 
progressed  in  mechanical  ingenuity  to  the  point  that  we 
have  reached,  nor  could  they,  but  in  one  sense  their 
cultural  state  surpassed  that  of  the  race  which  was  to 
overthrow  them.  Their  age-long  battle  with  and  study 
of  Nature  had  woven  into  their  character  a  consideration 
of  the  common  welfare,  a  man-to-man  accountability  for 

64 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


20. — The  Yarmouth  Coach,  which  originated  in  England,  wTas  a  very  small, 
cart-like  pleasure  conveyance,  with  two  broad-tired  wheels.  When  similar 
vehicles  were  employed  for  more  serious  purposes  in  America  the  standing 
driver  ceased  to  appear. 


word  and  act,  a  disdain  of  petty  evasion,  an  ability  to 
discern  motive,  and  a  keenness  in  separating  honesty 
from  hypocrisy  and  friend  from  foe,  that  excelled  the 
similar  attributes  possessed  by  the  white-skinned  men 
who  appeared  among  them.  The  strangers  from  abroad, 
though  they  did  not  realize  it,  were  under  one  disad¬ 
vantage.  Their  methods  of  life  —  their  civilization  — 
had  blunted  in  them  those  qualities  in  which  the  Indians 
were  supreme.  That  was  why  the  Indians  as  a  race  did  not 
get  along  in  their  dealings  with  the  white  men  as  a  race. 
There  was  no  common  footing,  either  of  character  or  ma¬ 
terial  interests,  on  which  both  could  stand.  The  whites 

65 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


thought  the  Indians  were  children;  heathen.  But  it  was 
the  Indians  who  were  wise  in  their  comprehension  of  the 
significance  of  events,  and  the  strangers  who  were  blind. 

So  the  colonists  came  and  settled  down.  Around 
them  was  the  wilderness.  That  they  could  see,  for  it  was 
tangible.  It  held  them  back,  but  it  stood  still  when 
attacked  and  could  be  slowly  demolished  as  occasion  re¬ 
quired.  The  other  barrier  which  surrounded  them  was 
one  they  felt,  rather  than  saw.  From  the  most  northern 
settlements  in  Maine  to  Virginia,  the  Carolinas  and 
Georgia,  an  elastic  and  tightly  drawn  cordon  of  native 
influence  stretched  close  around  them  and  hampered 
them.  From  it  came  forth  a  ceaseless  constriction,  mani¬ 
fested  in  many  ways,  against  their  free  and  general 
progress  about  the  country.  The  restraint  irritated  and 
angered  them,  and  when  the  strain  and  bickering  reached 
a  certain  point,  as  it  often  did,  there  came  an  open  rupture 
and  fighting. 

Sometimes  the  restraint  exerted  by  the  Indians  was 
due,  in  whatever  form  it  took,  to  preconcerted  action,  but 
its  underlying  origin  and  motive — no  matter  whether 
it  was  the  act  of  one  or  many,  whether  spontaneous  or 
planned  —  was  a  general  realization  by  the  whole  native 
population  of  the  continental  menace  that  confronted 
them.  The  natives  looked  into  the  future  and  saw,  perhaps 
before  the  white  men  did,  what  was  happening.  There¬ 
fore  it  was  not  the  individual  traveller  in  whose  path 
obstacles  were  laid.  There  was  nothing  immediate  to 
fear  from  an  individual.  He  would  return  whence  he 
came.  The  two  things  that  brought  alarm  and  sadness 
to  the  souls  of  the  Indians  were  bulk-movements  of  the 
white  men  and  any  manifestation  of  a  desire  to  creep 
toward  the  West.  Thus  it  was  that  the  early  extensive 

66 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 

travelling  of  the  whites,  as  we  have  seen,  was  performed 
in  parties  sufficiently  large  to  insure  mutual  support  and 
safety  in  case  of  need.  And  all  the  influence  of  the  natives 

—  in  which  they  were  greatly  aided  for  a  time  by 
the  physical  barrier  of  the  Appalachian  Mountains 

—  was  exerted  in  keeping  the  tide  of  travel  movement 
confined  to  a  north-and-south  direction  along  the  narrow 
coastal  region  some  hundred  and  fifty  miles  in  width. 
Had  that  native  influence  not  been  exerted,  both  by  the 
display  of  strong  and  ceaseless  objection  and  the  use  of 
their  land  titles  as  a  barrier,  a  general  travel  toward  the 
West  must  have  taken  place  many  years  before  it  actually 
began.  But  so  long  as  the  colonies  remained  divided  — - 
although  they  several  times  tried  to  unite  in  a  diplomatic 
sense  to  oppose  the  Indian  policy  —  the  native  strategy 
prevailed.  It  was  not  until  a  more  centralized  govern¬ 
ment  and  a  deeper  feeling  of  American  solidarity  came 
into  existence  and  devoted  the  joint  energies  of  all  the 
states  to  the  effort,  that  the  stubborn  native  opposition  to 
widespread  travel  was  finally  broken  down,  and  the  west¬ 
ward  movement  became  national  in  its  character. 

Unknown  thousands  died  in  those  outbreaks  of  border 
warfare  that  lasted  for  a  century  and  three-quarters,  and 
at  times  certain  regions  were  for  a  while  swept  clear 
of  their  Caucasian  inhabitants.  But  the  final  result  was 
always  the  same.  The  white  race,  in  its  contact  with 
other  men,  has  been  a  glacier  whose  implacable  and  grind¬ 
ing  advance  makes  up  the  chief  part  of  recorded 
history,  and  the  moraines  that  mark  its  progress  are  forts 
and  guns.  There  was  no  exception  here  in  America. 
No  matter  how  severe  the  setback  was,  other  white  men 
came  in  force  enough  to  guarantee  safety  and  reoccupy 
the  devastated  and  deserted  territory.  They  rebuilt  the 

67 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


burned  log  dwellings  and  set  up  little  fortifications  which 
they  called  blockhouses,  strongly  made  of  huge  hewn 
timbers,  with  loopholes  for  rifles  and  usually  with  a 
projecting  upper  story  from  which  fighters  could  com¬ 
mand  the  entrances  below.  In  the  course  of  time  the 
outlying  districts  and  main  travel  routes  throughout  all 
the  region  held  by  the  whites  were  dotted  with  such 
blockhouses,  into  which  the  population  could  retire  if 
it  became  necessary.  Those  structures,  and  the  larger 
palisaded  or  smooth  timber  forts  which  were  also  built, 
were  long  an  essential  feature  of  American  life  and  move¬ 
ment. 

Many  times  it  happened  that  a  party  of  travellers 
journeying  through  the  wilderness  learned  from  some 
swift  courier  that  hostilities  had  begun,  and  their  leisurely 
advance  changed  upon  the  instant  to  wild  flight  toward 
the  nearest  blockhouse  and  safety.  Usually  they  gained 
the  refuge,  there  to  be  held  in  siege  while  the  rifles  with¬ 
out  which  no  men  went  abroad  were  used  against  other 
and  duskier  men  who  claimed  the  territory  they  had  in¬ 
vaded.  At  other  times  the  travellers  did  not  reach  the 
little  forts  in  season,  and  vanished  into  the  forest  as 
captives  or  else  went  forth  upon  a  yet  longer  journey  — 
from  which  there  could  be  no  return. 

It  seems  probable  that  for  a  short  period  after  their 
first  coming  the  various  colonies  entertained  a  belief  that 
they  could  go  their  own  way  without  much  relation  with 
the  Indians  beyond  such  association  as  they  themselves 
decreed,  or  as  was  necessary  in  exchanging  trinkets  for 
square  miles;  that  they  might  consider  the  natives  as  part 
of  the  surrounding  scenery.  This  hope  —  to  whatever 
extent  it  existed  —  speedily  disappeared,  and  the  new¬ 
comers  came  to  a  realization  that  their  contact  with 

68 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


the  original  proprietors  of  the  continent  was  the  chief 
problem  of  their  domestic  affairs.  Then  began  a  pro* 
longed  period  during  which  the  power  and  territorial 
location  of  the  Indians  gradually  became  an  element  in 
the  vast  and  complicated  game  of  international  politics 
wherein  France,  England  and  Spain  were  the  contestants, 
and  North  America  was  the  prize  for  which  they  strug- 
gled. 

Wheedled  by  gifts,  by  crafty  appeals  to  their  tribal 
animosities,  by  the  blandishment  of  honeyed  words  and 
promises  not  always  meant  to  be  fulfilled;  in  short,  by  all 


21. — The  first  four-wheeled  wagons  were  small,  with  flat  beds  and  straight 
body  lines.  They  wrere  often  covered,  in  whole  or  in  part,  with  tops  of 
home-made  linsey-woolsey  designed  as  a  protection  for  women  and  children. 
The  men  walked. 


those  arts  of  civilization  which  white  men  can  employ 
with  such  proficiency  in  like  emergencies  when  dealing 
with  aborigines,  the  Indians  became  catspaws  for  the  con¬ 
tending  forces  that  coveted  their  dominion  and  sought 

69 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


their  undoing.  To  this  state  of  affairs  was  added  the  con¬ 
stant  demand,  by  the  English  speaking  colonies,  for 
umore  land;  more  land.” 

The  purpose  of  the  Indians  in  thus  taking  sides  with 
some  white  men  against  others  —  after  realizing  that  all 
the  strangers  could  not  be  got  rid  of  —  was  clear.  If  a 
group  of  tribes  decided  as  a  result  of  conference  that 
the  French  would  be  better  permanent  neighbors  than  the 
English,  and  had  a  chance  to  destroy  the  English,  then 
they  helped  France.  Often  they  decided  the  other  way, 
and  acted  accordingly.  And  of  all  those  native  decisions 
none  approached,  in  its  importance  and  effect  on  Ameri¬ 
can  affairs,  the  determination  of  the  League  of  the  Iro¬ 
quois  to  oppose  the  ambitions  of  the  French  and  remain 
on  a  friendly  footing  with  the  English,  if  possible.1 
The  geographical  position  of  the  native  confederation 
has  already  been  outlined.  When,  in  addition,  it  is  kept 
in  mind  that  any  travel  by  white  men  on  Lakes  George, 
Champlain,  Ontario  and  Erie,  the  Hudson  and  Mohawk 
Rivers,  the  upper  Susquehanna  and  Delaware  Rivers,  or 
through  the  entire  territory  stretching  westward  from 
Albany  to  the  neighborhood  of  the  present  city  of  Cleve¬ 
land,  was  for  a  long  time  dependent  on  their  willingness 
and  consent,  the  power  of  the  Iroquois  as  a  factor  in  the 
early  mobility  of  the  white  men  will  be  understood.  So 
great  was  their  influence,  and  so  wide  the  recognition  of 
it,  that  they  came  to  be  known  as  the  Keepers  of  the  High¬ 
way  of  America.  The  governors  of  Pennsylvania,  Vir- 

1  It  is  not  meant  that  the  Iroquois  wished  to  be  on  friendly  footing  with  the  English 
colonists,  but  with  the  English  government.  That  confederation,  and  many  other  tribes 
as  well,  considered  themselves  to  be — and  in  some  few  respects  were — on  a  political 
equality  with  the  white  colonies  in  so  far  as  relations  with  England  were  concerned. 
For  a  considerable  time  prior  to  the  Revolution  England  dealt  with  the  natives  not 
through  the  colonies,  but  more  or  less  directly.  One  of  her  chief  embarrassments  over 
American  affairs  was  the  constant  conflict  between  the  two  races  and  the  native  demand 
for  protection  against  the  encroachments  of  the  colonists.  In  the  Revolution  many 
Iroquois  fought  on  the  side  of  the  English  against  the  Americans. 

70 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


ginia,  New  York,  Maryland,  and  perhaps  of  other  colo¬ 
nies  came  to  treat  with  them  —  did  not  summon  the 
Iroquois,  but  went  in  person  to  them. 

The  story  of  the  beginning  of  the  unfriendly  attitude 
of  the  Iroquois  toward  the  French  is  an  interesting  one, 
relevant  to  the  subject  under  consideration.  In  the  sum¬ 
mer  of  1609,  while  the  explorer  Champlain  was  on  his 
way  through  the  country  in  search  of  knowledge  that 
might  aid  France  in  her  plans  for  the  control  of  America, 
he  fell  in  with  some  Hurons  who  were  going  to  fight  the 
Iroquois.  From  the  Hurons  he  learned  of  the  lake  that 
now  bears  his  name,  and  also  of  Lake  George,  the  Hudson 
and  Mohawk  Rivers,  Lake  Ontario,  and  the  strategic 
travel  route  leading  toward  the  West  of  which  those 
waters  were  a  part.  The  tribes  that  inhabited  and  con¬ 
trolled  the  important  region  in  question,  he  was  told,  were 
the  ones  with  which  his  native  companions  were  at  odds. 
Champlain  and  the  Hurons  continued  to  travel  together, 
and  one  day  they  came  upon  a  party  of  Iroquois.  The 
French  explorer  and  his  fellow  countrymen  were  of  course 
provided  with  firearms,  and  though  the  Iroquois  were  not 
his  enemies  he  fired  upon  them.  It  was  quite  safe  to  do 
so,  and  the  act  was  an  adventure  that  relieved  the 
monotony  of  the  march.  The  Iroquois  fled.  Before  the 
terrible  bang-stick  of  the  white  man  the  legs  of  two  war¬ 
riors  standing  afar  off  became  as  the  stems  of  broken  flow¬ 
ers,  and  they  fell  down  dead.  The  Indians  could  not 
cope  with  a  weapon  like  that,  but  the  story  of  its  existence 
and  use  went  through  the  wilderness  and  the  relationship 
between  France  and  the  Five  Nations  was  fixed.  For 
nearly  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  afterward  the  effect  of 
that  prejudice  was  still  apparent,  despite  many  later  efforts 
of  France  to  secure  the  Iroquois  as  allies. 

71 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


It  is  useless  to  speculate  on  what  might  afterward  have 
taken  place  had  not  that  early  antagonism  of  the  Iroquois 
against  the  French  been  created  by  Champlain’s  act. 
History  is  a  hen  that  sits  upon  the  eggs  of  opportunity 
and  chance,  and  the  events  she  hatches  are  a  strange  brood. 
Had  the  French,  from  their  position  in  Canada,  secured 
the  lasting  cooperation  of  the  Iroquois  they  could  in 
that  manner  have  held  the  region  whose  control  was  to 
determine  the  destiny  of  the  continent. 

One  aspect  of  colonial  affairs  which  for  a  long  time 
played  into  the  hands  of  the  Indians  was  a  sort  of  complex 
jealousy  the  colonies  had  of  one  another  and  that  pre¬ 
vented  them,  save  on  unusual  occasions,  from  acting  in 
unison.  Each  colony  feared  that  the  schemes  of  con¬ 
solidation  from  time  to  time  proposed  would  deprive  it 
of  various  privileges  of  self-government  which  it  insisted 
on  and  held  in  high  esteem.  There  were  also  numerous 
acute  and  long  continued  quarrels  between  some  of  the 
colonial  governments,  especially  those  of  Virginia,  Penn¬ 
sylvania,  New  York  and  Connecticut,  over  boundary  lines 
and  the  political  future  of  the  territory  toward  the  West. 
But  despite  these  matters  the  colonists  did  occasionally 
try  to  present  a  united  front  in  their  dealings  with  the 
natives.  Six  times  within  a  period  of  sixty-seven  years  — 
in  1684,  1694,  1711,  1722,  1748  and  1751— there  were 
gatherings  or  congresses  held  to  negotiate  with  the 
Keepers  of  the  Highway.  The  population  was  growing; 
the  developing  spirit  of  nationality  had  already  created  a 
cleavage  between  the  interests  of  England  and  America, 
and  a  restless  tendency  to  move  and  spread  out  became 
more  and  more  apparent. 

As  early  as  the  year  1753  a  dribble  of  white  men  began 
from  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland  into  the  region  around 

72 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


the  headwaters  of  the  Ohio  River,  constituting  a  move¬ 
ment  toward  the  West  instead  of  in  the  old  north-and- 
south  groove.  The  French  and  Indian  War  and  Pontiac’s 
uprising  delayed  but  did  not  prevent  the  white  occupation. 
The  Indians  protested,  and  in  1768  there  was  another 
conclave  at  Fort  Pitt  between  the  Iroquois,  Shawnees 
and  Delawares,  and  the  white  men.  The  meeting 
was  due  to  the  alarm  of  the  Indians  over  increasing 
encroachments  on  their  territory  and  the  killing  of  natives 
by  invading  whites.  Among  the  subjects  considered  at 
the  congress  of  the  races  were  land  titles,  outrages  com¬ 
mitted  against  the  natives  and  the  privilege  of  unham¬ 
pered  travel.  The  white  authorities  apologized  for  pre¬ 
vious  murders  and  the  Delaware  chieftain  —  Beaver  — 
finally  grasped  the  wampum  belt  of  peace  and  said: 
“Take  hold  of  the  end  of  this  belt,  which  we  may  stretch 
along  the  road  between  us,  in  order  that  we  may  all  travel 
it  in  peace  and  safety.” 

Thus  another  agreement  was  made  by  which  the 
colonies  promised  to  respect  the  territorial  interests  of 
the  red  men.  The  Indians,  as  they  understood  existing 
conditions,  were  well  within  their  prerogatives  in  making 
protest  at  invasion,  since  the  British  government  had 
recognized  the  rights  of  the  Indians  to  undisturbed  occu¬ 
pancy  of  all  the  lands  west  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains, 
and  by  a  proclamation  issued  in  1763  had  fixed  the  west¬ 
ern  bounds  of  the  white  colonies  at  the  natural  line  formed 
by  the  range  in  question.  But  the  forces  that  were  at  work 
and  the  conditions  that  existed  were  too  elemental  to  be 
controlled  and  directed  by  the  routine  methods  of  or¬ 
ganized  society.  A  king  who  lived  across  the  seas  could 
not  be  the  stage  manager  of  the  drama  whose  preliminary 
scenes  were  being  enacted  here.  Its  development  was 

73 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


dependent  on  things  that  had  happened  before  ever  there 
was  an  England;  on  processes  which  took  place  in  that 
remote  and  geologic  time  when  men  of  fair  skins  and 
gray  eyes  came  out  of  savagery  and  found  within  them¬ 
selves  a  desire  to  rule  and  the  power  to  destroy  their 
duskier  fellows.  Here  was  a  virgin  continent,  rich  be¬ 
yond  conjecture,  and  owned  by  a  handful  of  lowlier 
men  whose  hue  was  the  pronouncement  of  their  doom. 
Beside  them  had  become  entrenched  a  horde  of  the  rest¬ 
less  and  all-pervading  race,  smitten  once  more  with  the 
fever  of  conquest  that  surges  in  its  blood  and  whose  im¬ 
patience  at  the  limitations  to  its  movement  and  dominion 
was  swiftly  reaching  a  stage  at  which  transmutation  into 
action  would  begin.  Against  such  an  impulse  the  ordi¬ 
nary  machinery  of  political  government  and  the  decrees 
of  kings  could  have  no  effect.  As  well  might  an  effort 
be  made  to  stop  the  sweep  of  an  ocean’s  tide  by  aldermanic 
resolution. 

Like  pent-up  waters  that  can  no  longer  be  contained 
in  the  reservoir  designed  to  hold  them,  the  white  men 
overflowed  the  mountains.  The  little  vanguard  of  a  com¬ 
ing  army  was  not  content,  as  others  had  been,  to  find  new 
homes  within  the  coast  region  so  long  overrun  by  the 
whites,  but  with  one  long  leap  penetrated  far  into  the 
wilderness.  The  founding  of  Pittsburgh  furnishes  an 
illustration  of  the  distances  to  which  those  pioneers  trav¬ 
elled  through  unknown  country.  There  was  as  yet  no 
outright  breaking  of  the  dam;  no  advance  which  re¬ 
sembled  a  human  flood  sweeping  through  the  immense 
and  gloomy  forests.  That  was  to  come  a  little  later.  But 
the  period  of  shoulder-to-shoulder  life  was  passing  away, 
and  between  the  older  regions  along  the  Atlantic  and 
those  new  and  wilder  lands  where  the  first  interior  settle- 

74 


22. _ A  New  England  two-wheeled  ox-cart.  Used  for  nearly  two  centuries  as  a  means  of  transport  between  f  r 

and  villages  lying  within  a  day’s  journey.  The  scene  is  in  New  Haven,  with 
some  buildings  of  Yale  College  in  the  background. 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


ments  were  planted  there  intervened  a  wilderness  some 
two  hundred  miles  in  width  that  was  without  white 
habitation. 

There  were  native  protests,  bloody  reprisals,  more 
conferences,  and  in  1768  an  impoitant  new  treaty  was 
signed  at  Fort  Stanwix  giving  to  the  white  men  all  the 
country  south  and  east  of  a  line  which  began  on  the  Ohio 
River  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cherokee  River,1  that  continued 
up  the  Ohio  to  Pittsburgh,  thence  up  the  Alleghany  to 
Kittanning,  thence  overland  to  the  most  western  branch 
of  the  Susquehanna  (in  New  York),  thence  to  Awandoe 
Creek  and  the  upper  Delaware,  and  finally  up  the  Dela¬ 
ware  to  a  poinf  near  Fort  Stanwix.  For  their  title  to  this 
territory,  which  included  large  parts  of  the  present  states 
of  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  West  Virginia,  Kentucky  and 
Tennessee,  the  white  men  paid  to  the  Indians  about  fifty 
thousand  dollars  and  pledged  themselves  that  no  colonists 
should  travel,  for  purposes  of  settlement,  either  north  or 
west  of  the  line  which  fixed  its  limits.  All  territory  north 
and  west  of  the  line  was  confirmed  to  the  Indians. 

But  friction  still  continued,  and  in  1774  the  conflict 
known  in  history  as  Dunmore’s2  War  broke  out.  The 
immediate  event  which  aroused  the  Indians  to  a  fury 
and  caused  them,  under  the  leadership  of  the  Shawnee 
war  chief  —  Cornstalk  —  to  fight  one  of  the  very  few 
pitched  battles  in  their  history,  was  the  murder  by  white 
frontiersmen  of  all  the  family  and  relatives  of  the  Iroquois 
chief  Logan.  Logan  was  a  friend  of  the  white  race.  He 
was  a  native  who  possessed  a  sufficient  loftiness  of  character 
to  forgive  the  murder  of  some  others  of  his  kinsfolk  by 

1  As  the  Tennessee  River  was  then  known. 

2  Lord  Dunmore  was  the  governor  of  Virginia  at  the  time.  The  wrath  of  the  Indians 
was  directed  toward  the  settlers  of  that  province,  and  Virginia  white  men  were  the  only 
colonists  who  fought. 


76 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 

* 

settlers  at  an  earlier  day.  His  sense  of  honor,  and  his 
dignity,  fairness,  loyalty  and  kindness  had  won  for  him 
the  admiration  and  respect  of  many  prominent  white  men. 
One  day  in  April  of  1774  a  party  of  nine  Indians,  in¬ 
cluding  men,  women  and  babies,  and  embracing  all  of 
Logan’s  family,  left  his  village1  and  set  out  on  a  friendly 
visit  to  the  trading  camp  of  a  whiteman  named  Greathouse 
with  whom  they  were  on  good  terms,  and  whom  they 
often  went  to  see.  There  the  grown  up  natives  were  made 
drunk,  and  when  they  had  become  helpless  and  easy  to 
despatch,  Greathouse  and  two  of  his  companions  killed 
the  whole  lot,  not  omitting  the  children. 

So  began  Dunmore’s  War.  Indian  runners  sped 
through  all  the  trails  of  the  forest,  leaving  the  news  at 
every  little  village  of  native  huts  and  rushing  on  again, 
while  the  warriors  who  listened  to  the  tidings  they  brought 
were  on  the  way  to  join  Logan  and  Cornstalk  almost  be¬ 
fore  the  messengers  had  vanished  in  the  shadows  that 
swallowed  them.  When  Logan  was  told  what  had  been 
done  he  became  a  madman.  The  color  of  a  man’s  skin 
makes  small  difference  when  he  hears  a  story  like  that. 

Logan  went  to  war  in  his  turn.2  His  friendship  for 
the  whites  was  changed  to  hatred,  and  with  the  vision  of 
his  murdered  kin  before  him  he  killed  with  ferocitv  and 
joy.  While  the  madness  lasted  he  revelled  in  blood.  But 
the  war  ended,  as  usual,  in  the  defeat  of  the  red  men  before 
the  rifles  of  the  Virginians,  and  after  the  overthrow  of 
the  Indians  in  a  pitched  battle  near  the  Ohio  River  a 
peace  was  concluded  between  Governor  Dunmore  and 
the  natives.  Logan  refused  to  attend  the  treaty  negotia¬ 
tions,  saying  that  he  was  a  warrior  and  not  a  diplomat 

1  At  Yellow  Creek  on  the  upper  Ohio  'River. 

2  In  the  eyes  of  Indians,  and  according  to  their  immemorial  practise,  such  an  act  was 

war. 


77 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


whose  only  strength  lay  in  his  tongue.  He  sent  to  the 
conference,  instead,  the  message  known  as  Logan’s  Speech, 
a  few  brief  words  in  explanation  of  his  position  that  have 
from  that  day  taken  rank  as  perhaps  the  loftiest  utterance 
made  by  a  native  American.  So  profound  was  the  im¬ 
pression  the  message  created  at  the  conference  that  the 
white  men  who  were  there  assembled  —  all  of  whom  had 
known  and  esteemed  Logan  —  sat  up  half  the  night  beside 
their  camp-fires  in  order  to  talk  about  it  and  commit  it 
to  memory. 

By  the  terms  of  the  treaty  that  ended  Dunmore’s  War 
the  white  population  of  the  colonies  was  granted  per¬ 
mission  to  navigate  the  Ohio  River  without  molestation 
by  the  natives,  and  one  more  step  was  thereby  taken  in 
the  travel  movement  toward  the  West.  So  the  white 
men’s  boats,  cumbrous,  uncouth  of  aspect,  yet  freighted 
with  the  restless  energy  and  strength  of  a  conquering 
people,  floated  out  at  last  on  the  waters  of  the  Beautiful 
River.  It  was  also  agreed  in  the  treaty  that  no  northern 
Indians  were  to  go  south  of  the  Ohio,  and  that  no  white 
men  should  thereafter  penetrate  into  the  native  territories 
north  of  that  stream. 

Such  was  the  situation  just  previous  to  the  Revolution, 
whose  near  approach  was  already  apparent.  With  the 
outbreak  of  that  struggle  all  lesser  affairs,  including  the 
relations  between  colonies  and  Indians,  and  the  questions 
bearing  on  safe  and  improved  travel  conditions  through¬ 
out  the  country  were  swept  aside,  not  again  to  be  taken  up 
until  the  outcome  of  the  struggle  for  political  independ¬ 
ence  should  be  determined. 

The  Indians  as  a  rule  took  sides  with  England  during 
the  contest1  and  fought  against  the  colonial  forces.  Their 

1  Some  Indian  nations  remained  neutral. 

78 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


action  in  that  respect  was  understandable  in  view  of  what 
had  gone  before,  for  whatever  protection  they  had  secured 
in  their  quarrels  with  the  colonials  had  been  due  to  action 
by  the  British  government  itself  and  its  crown  repre- 


23. — The  Canadian  caleche,  which  was  used  in  northern  New  England,  grad¬ 
ually  evolved  into  one  of  the  early  colonial  two-wheeled  vehicles  called  the 
chair.  When  equipped  with  a  linsey-woolsey  or  leather  cover  the  chair 
became  a  chaise.  See  illustrations  Nos.  59  and  156. 

sentatives  on  this  side  of  the  water.  The  Continental  Con¬ 
gress  and  its  agents  made  efforts  to  secure  Indians  as 
allies  for  the  colonies  against  the  English,  but  with  such 
small  success  that  the  attempt  was  soon  given  up  as  hope¬ 
less.  The  red  men  understood  that  overtures  from  the 
new  American  government  were  not  prompted  by  friendli 
ness,  but  by  desperate  need.  And  in  addition  to  the  native 
memory  of  past  grievances  an  incident  which  happened 
early  in  the  war  made  any  such  alliance  out  of  the  ques¬ 
tion,  even  if  otherwise  possible. 

79 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


Among  those  Indian  nations  whose  head  men  sought 
to  keep  out  of  the  struggle  between  England  and  her 
revolting  possessions  were  the  Shawnees,  of  which 
Cornstalk  was  a  leader.  But  the  hot  bloods  among 
the  Shawnees,  eager  for  revenge  against  the  colonists,  were 
for  fighting  under  the  Cross  of  Saint  George.  In  an 
effort  to  maintain  peace  between  his  people  and  the  colo¬ 
nials  Cornstalk  went  on  a  visit  of  friendliness  to  a  fort  of 
the  American  troops,  taking  with  him  Redhawk  and  an¬ 
other  chief.  To  the  Americans  he  explained  the  situation, 
saying  that  though  many  of  the  Shawnee  fighting  men 
wanted  war,  he  and  the  other  leaders  were  against  a  clash 
and  hoped  to  prevent  it.  He  also  said,  as  any  man  in  his 
position  would  do,  that  in  case  his  best  efforts  were  un¬ 
successful  he  would  be  in  honor  bound  to  fight  at  the 
head  of  his  warriors.  On  those  words  the  white  Ameri¬ 
cans  seized  Cornstalk  and  the  other  two  visitors  and 
imprisoned  them  as  hostages.1 

Thereupon  the  Shawnees  went  to  war  against  the 
colonists,  and  soon  killed  a  soldier  of  the  fort  where  Corn¬ 
stalk  was  held  prisoner.  When  a  party  of  the  other 
soldiers  found  their  dead  comrade  they  ran  with  one  ac¬ 
cord  toward  the  fort  and  rushed  in  with  a  tumult.  Corn¬ 
stalk  heard,  and  divined  what  it  meant.  Rising  to  his 
feet  he  bade  his  son2  stand  likewise,  saying  to  him  that  it 
was  good  they  should  die  together.  As  the  white  soldiers 
burst  into  the  room  Cornstalk  turned  and  faced  them 
and  so  perished. 

The  outcome  of  the  Revolution  placed  both  the  new¬ 
born  nation  and  the  Indians  in  a  difficult  position.  Eng- 


1  An  act  showing  how  little  the  Indian  character  was  understood  by  its  perpetrators. 
In  addition  to  its  uselessness  as  a  factor  for  peace,  such  a  deed  was  more  apt  to  incite 
hostilities  than  to  prevent  them. 

2  Who  had  come  to  visit  him. 


80 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


land,  by  ceding  to  the  American  states  all  territory  she 
had  held  south  of  the  Great  Lakes  and  east  of  the  Missis¬ 
sippi  had  of  necessity  abandoned  her  red  allies  to  the 
mercies  of  a  country  which  they  had  just  been  fighting, 
and  left  them  on  lands  the  title  to  which  had,  in  theoretical 
sense,  passed  to  the  confederated  colonies.  The  Republic, 
on  the  other  hand,  could  not  rid  itself  of  the  native  red  pop¬ 
ulation  that  had  so  recently  been  armed  foes.  It  was  brought 
face  to  face  with  a  situation  that  demanded  free  and 
unimpeded  travel  through  much  of  the  outlying  regions, 
while  at  the  same  time  circumstances  called  for  a  recog¬ 
nition  of  the  property  right  of  the  Indians  to  lands  on 
which  they  might  live  and  gain  their  sustenance.  The 
necessity  of  more  territory  toward  the  west  in  which  the 
nation  might  expand  and  meet  the  needs  of  a  growing 
population,  together  with  the  attainment  of  safe  travel 
toward  the  west  were  plain,  and  gradually  became  — 
aside  from  politics  —  the  principal  feature  of  the  nation’s 
internal  affairs.  In  fact  the  conditions  here  stated,  and 
which  were  first  brought  into  prominence  soon  after  the 
Revolution,  continued  to  be  the  controlling  influence  in 
the  development  of  the  Republic  from  that  day  until  the 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans,  and  all  that  lay  between, 
were  linked  together  by  an  unbroken  travel  system  eighty- 
six  years  afterward.  There  were  times  when  the  people 
seemed  to  pause  for  a  while  on  the  march,  as  a  giant  who 
sleeps,  but  they  always  went  on  again,  ever  demanding 
a  little  more  room  in  which  to  move  and  a  better  way 
of  getting  where  they  wanted  to  go. 

Beginning  with  the  Congress  of  the  Confederation, 
the  newly  created  United  States  recognized  the  several 
groups  of  Indians  as  separate  nations  having  sov¬ 
ereignty  over  and  ownership  of  territory,  and  dealt  with 

81 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


them  on  that  basis.1  Whenever  it  occurred  —  as  it  did 
many  times  —  that  the  United  States  found  need  for 
regions  owned  and  occupied  by  the  Indians  it  acquired 
possession  of  such  territories  by  the  negotiation  of  formal 
treaties,  just  as  it  did  in  buying  the  Louisiana  Territory 
from  France  and  Florida  from  Spain. 

In  the  early  years  of  the  Northwest  Territory  the 
armed  troops  of  the  confederated  colonies  sometimes  used 
force  in  evicting  settlers  who  had  encroached  on  the 
Indians’  lands  in  that  region,  and  even  burned  the  log 
cabins  of  such  invaders.  Yet  at  the  same  time  the  nation 
was  demanding  that  the  Indians  allow  white  men  to  travel 
into  and  settle  on  the  territory  where  the  evictions  were 
taking  place.  These  things  indicated  a  willingness  — -  even 
a  desire — on  the  part  of  the  Caucasian  officials  to  ac¬ 
complish  a  predetermined  purpose  by  methods  quite  cor¬ 
rect  from  the  civilized  standpoint  of  orderly  legislative 
and  legal  process.  From  the  more  primitive  viewpoint 
of  the  natives  the  curious  spectacle  presented  simply  an 
unworthy  quibble.  To  the  Indians  it  mattered  little  what 
method  was  used  in  depriving  them  of  their  land.  They 
didn’t  want  to  give  it  up  at  all.  It  was  small  consolation 
for  them  to  discover  that  henceforth  they  were  to  lose 


1  Among  the  acts  of  the  new  American  government  in  which  the  Indians  were 
acknowledged  to  be  people  distinct  from  the  citizens  of  the  Republic,  and  in  which  their 
land  proprietorship  and  qualities  of  separate  nationality  were  stated  may  be  cited  the 
following: 

Articles  of  confederation;  adopted  by  the  Continental  Congress  in  1777:  Article  6. — 
“No  state  shall  engage  in  any  war  without  the  consent  of  the  United  States  in  Congress  ' 
assembled,  unless  such  state  be  actually  invaded  by  enemies,  or  shall  have  received  certain 
advice  of  a  resolution  being  formed  by  some  nation  of  Indians  to  invade  such  state, 
and  the  danger  is  so  imminent  as  not  to  admit  of  a  delay,  till  the  United  States  in 
Congress  assembled  can  be  Consulted.” 

Const’tution  drawn  up  by  the  Congress  of  the  Confederation  and  put  into  effect  in 
1789:  Article  1.  Section  8. — “Congress  shall  have  power  ...  to  regulate  commerce 
with  foreign  nations,  and  among  the  several  States,  and  with  the  Indian  Tribes.” 

Northwest  Ordinance,  adopted  by  the  Congress  of  the  Confederation  in  1787.  Sec¬ 
tion  8. — “The  Governor  .  .  .  shall  proceed,  from  time  to  time,  as  circumstances  may 
require,  to  lay  out  the  parts  of  the  district  on  which  the  Indian  titles  shall  have  been 
extinguished,  into  counties  and  townships.” 

From  the  same  instrument:  Article  III. — The  utmost  good  faith  shall  always  be 
observed  toward  the  Indians;  their  lands  and  property  shall  never  be  taken  from  them 
without  their  consent;  and  in  their  property  rights  and  liberty  they  shall  never  be 
invaded  or  disturbed,  unless  in  just  and  lawful  wars  authorized  by  Congress.” 

82 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


it  through  reluctantly  signed  documents,  portentous 
with  ceremony  and  red  seals,  whose  completion  was  al¬ 
ways  promptly  followed  by  the  appearance  of  soldiers, 
surveyors  and  more  white  travellers  marching  through  the 
forest.  Some  chiefs  at  last  refused  to  sign  any  papers, 
saying  that  every  time  they  did  so  their  people  lost  some¬ 
thing.  • 

From  1774  until  the  Treaty  of  Greenville  in  1795, 
following  Wayne’s  decisive  victory  over  the  confederated 
tribes  at  Fallen  Timbers,  there  was  no  real  peace  along 
the  northwestern  border.  Caucasian  movement  either  by 
land  or  water  was  at  all  times  unsafe,  and  many  a  traveller 
found  a  destination  he  was  not  seeking.  But  from  1795 
until  Tecumseh  tried,  sixteen  years  later,  to  organize  the 
interior  tribes  into  a  confederacy  opposed  to  further 
white  advance,  reasonable  quiet  reigned  upon  the  frontier. 
Whatever  other  dangers  and  hardships  the  traveller  might 
encounter  he  was  in  little  peril  that  was  due  from  Indian 
molestation  of  any  sort. 


CHAPTER  VI 


EARLY  CONDITIONS  IN  THE  SOUTH  —  RADICAL  DIFFERENCES 
BETWEEN  ITS  DEVELOPMENT  AND  THAT  OF  THE 
NORTH  —  THE  LIMITED  MOVEMENT  OF  EARLY  DAYS 
—  ORIGIN  AND  EFFECT  OF  THE  PLANTATION  SYSTEM 
—  SOCIAL  CLEAVAGE  —  WASHINGTON  AS  A  TYPE  OF 
ONE  CLASS  —  THE  TASK  OF  THE  PEOPLE  AND  THE 
MANNER  IN  WHICH  THEY  FOUND  STRENGTH  TO 
PERFORM  IT 

DURING  the  early  years  of  their  history1  the  growth 
of  the  southern  colonies,  with  the  exception  of  Vir¬ 
ginia,  did  not  proceed  nearly  so  rapidly  as  that  of  the 
regions  which  have  already  claimed  attention.  Nor  did 
important  movements  of  the  population  develop  so 
promptly.  As  a  whole  the  general  settlement  of  the  future 
southern  states  along  the  Atlantic  seaboard  took  place  at  a 
decidedly  later  date  than  did  the  rise  of  the  New  England 
and  middle  colonies.  Other  elements  that  helped  to  bring 
about  the  condition  stated  were  the  nature  of  the  southern 
region  itself,  and  the  character,  traditions,  habits  and  ne¬ 
cessities  of  the  first  white  men  who  permanently  occupied 
it.  That  part  of  the  South  extending  from  the  Atlantic  to 
the  Mississippi  and  from  the  Ohio  River  to  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  had  not  been  so  favored  as  the  North  with  a  pro¬ 
fusion  of  natural  highways  of  travel  in  the  shape  of  lakes 
and  rivers.  It  had,  to  be  sure,  the  Chesapeake  Bay  and 

1  The  period  before  1770. 


84 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


Potomac  River  as  a  gateway  into  the  interior,  the  Chero¬ 
kee  and  Cumberland  Rivers  flowing  northward  into  the 
Ohio,  and  a  few  coastal  streams  against  whose  currents 
slow  progress  could  be  made  by  small  boats  or  log  canoes 
for  goodly  distances  into  the  wilderness.  In  an  almost 
literal  sense  the  South  of  that  early  day  was  a  solid  block 
of  primeval  woods  that,  apart  from  the  actual  coast  itself, 
demanded  travel  on  land  or  none  at  all.  It  was  further 


24. — A  very  fine  private  coach  of  the  late  eighteenth  century.  Probably  built 
about  1790  by  David  Clark  of  Philadelphia,  for  Samuel  Powell  of  that  city. 
Exhibited  during  the  Civil  War  period,  in  museums  and  public  fairs,  as  a 
coach  that  had  belonged  to  Washington. 

true  that  rough  and  mountainous  country  made  up  a 
larger  proportion  of  the  territory  than  was  the  case  in  the 
early  settled  parts  of  New  England  and  the  middle  sec¬ 
tions.  Virginia,  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  the  two  Carolinas 
and  Georgia  were  notable  for  the  obstacles  they  presented 
to  early  and  primitive  land  travel.  Yet  it  was  precisely 
those  difficulties  that  inspired  their  early  inhabitants  with 

85 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 

the  indomitable  spirit  from  which  victory  is  born,  and 
made  the  southern  wilderness  a  scene  of  memorable  deeds. 
That  part  of  the  continent  was  to  witness  the  first  west¬ 
ward  march  of  a  white  population  through  the  forest;  the 
first  organized  display  of  the  new  travel  impulse  that 
afterward  continued  without  interruption  by  flatboat, 
steamboat,  canal-boat,  stage-coach,  prairie  schooner  and 
railway  until  there  was  no  more  land  to  cross,  and  the 
Pacific  Ocean  halted  the  long  migration. 

Among  all  phases  of  the  varied  history  that  deals  with 
the  occupation  and  economic  conquest  of  the  continent  by 
the  white  race,  that  which  relates  to  the  South  from  the 
time  of  its  first  settlements  until  the  War  for  Independence 
is  perhaps  least  known.  We  possess  the  dates  and  stories 
of  certain  important  events,  and  a  few  human  figures 
stand  out  with  the  prominence  of  silhouettes  against  a 
background  of  mystery,  legend  and  conjecture.  But  mere 
dates  are  no  longer  esteemed  the  chief  elements  of  history. 
They  are  not  even  the  skeleton  of  it,  for  chronological 
records  alone  do  not  enable  us  to  reconstruct  the  whole 
symmetrical  substance  of  a  period.  They  do  not  portray 
its  features,  analyze  its  qualities  of  strength  and  weakness 
or  transform  its  vanished  people  and  activities  into  a  liv¬ 
ing  drama  that  can  be  exhibited  like  moving  pictures 
thrown  upon  a  screen.  The  southern  generations  of  that 
early  time  lived  afar  off.  They  had  a  hard  time  of  it  at 
first  —  even  harder  in  many  ways  than  those  to  the  north 
of  them.  They  tried  to  be  sufficient  unto  themselves  as 
far  as  possible;  were  very  busy  in  the  struggle  to  estab¬ 
lish  themselves  securely  in  a  new  country,  and  —  doubt¬ 
less  because  of  their  surroundings,  isolation  and  labors  — 
developed  less  of  the  recording  instinct  than  appeared 
among  other  white  pioneers  of  the  country. 

86 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 

During  the  early  years  of  the  white  invasion  of  Vir¬ 
ginia  and  the  shores  of  Chesapeake  Bay  practically  all 
travel  was  carried  on  between  the  various  little  settle¬ 
ments  and  plantations  by  means  of  big  log  canoes  and 
heavy,  broad-beamed  sailing  boats.  And  because  of  their 
fear  of  the  Indians  it  was  the  habit  of  the  people  to  build 
shields  along  the  sides  of  the  craft  as  a  protection  against 
arrows,  and  to  fasten  small  poles  in  the  boats,  with  hats  on 
top  of  them  just  high  enough  to  be  seen  above  the  shields, 
in  order  to  make  the  natives  think  the  moving  parties  were 
stronger  than  they  really  were.  No  effort  was  made  for  a 
long  time  to  extend  white  activity  more  than  a  few  miles 
back  from  the  coast,  and  from  the  very  first  the  character 
of  development  in  the  South  showed  a  marked  divergence 
from  the  tendency  that  manifested  itself  in  the  northern 
colonies.  In  the  North  the  people  at  once  began  to  gather 
into  compact  little  communities  which  speedily  became 
towns  and  served  as  central  points  from  which  radiated 
the  white  influence.  .In  the  South  this  was  not  so.  The 
main  impulse  that  directed  the  method  and  progress  of 
southern  settlement  in  its  earliest  days  lay  in  the  control 
of  men  who,  before  coming  to  the  new  continent,  had  been 
accustomed  to  traditions  and  methods  of  life  handed  down 
from  the  feudal  period  of  large  landed  estates  which  pro¬ 
duced  all  that  was  needful  for  owner  and  retainer  alike. 
Hence  the  establishment  of  the  plantation  system  of  the 
South,  and  the  creation  of  conditions  that  profoundly  af¬ 
fected  its  future  history  not  only  with  regard  to  travel 
movement,  but  in  respect  of  all  those  other  social  and  eco¬ 
nomic  conditions  that  are  always  based  on  the  accessibil¬ 
ity  of  population  units  to  one  another.  It  must  not  be 
understood  there  were  no  towns  whatever  in  the  South 
during  its  first  century  and  a  half,  for  there  were  such 

87 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


communities,  but  they  were  very  few  in  number,  very 
small,  and  exerted  practically  no  influence  in  the  life  of 
the  inhabitants. 

By  the  year  1689  Virginia  had  some  50,000  or  60,000 
people  scattered  in  obedience  to  the  plantation  system,  but 
keeping  close  to  water.  The  few  points  where  popula¬ 
tion  was  at  all  concentrated  were  little  settlements  called 
Henrico,  Bermuda  and  West  Shirley.  Rude  paths 
through  the  forest  were  increasing,  and  a  few  rough  roads 
were  in  existence,  but  no  travel  by  vehicle  was  yet  possible. 
All  land  journeys  of  consequence  were  made  on  horse¬ 
back,  and  three  years  before  the  date  named  the  Burgesses 
had  recognized  the  importance  of  quicker  travel  by  pass¬ 
ing  a  law  for  improving  the  breed  of  horses  in  the  colony. 
The  landed  proprietors  met  this  appeal  of  the  govern¬ 
ment  with  enthusiasm  and  the  result  was  the  evolution  of  a 
splendid  type  of  animal  that,  together  with  an  equally 
famous  breed  developed  about  the  same  time  in  Rhode 
Island,1  served  through  all  the  English  colonies,  for  a  long 
time,  as  the  best  means  of  getting  from  place  to  place. 

The  early  conditions  in  Maryland  were  similar  to 
those  in  Virginia.  Plantations  were  established  all  along 
the  bays  and  rivers,  each  with  a  water  frontage,  and 
boats  were  the  standard  vehicle  for  such  little  travel  as 
took  place.  Until  the  time  of  the  Revolution  the  colony 
—  aside  from  plantation  clearings  on  the  waterways  — 
was  one  unbroken  forest.  The  old  Baltimore  was  a  trivial 
settlement  that  appeared  on  Bush  River  about  1683,  but 
the  new  and  present  city  was  established  on  the  Patapsco 
in  1730.  Even  as  late  as  the  year  1752  the  town  had  but 
twenty-five  houses.  Twenty  years  after  the  founding  of 

1  The  Rhode  Island  horses  were  called  the  Narragansett  breed.  It  is  believed  to 
have  died  out  soon  after  1800.  Horses  were  expensive,  and  good  animals  for  horseback 
riding  were  worth  from  £26  to  £40. 


88 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


the  colony  there  were  only  about  eight  thousand  people 
within  its  limits,  and  by  1689  the  population  had  only 
grown  to  some  thirty  thousand.  After  that  time  the  in¬ 
crease  was  more  noticeable  and  by  1751  Maryland  had 
145,000  people.  Road  building  was  advancing  in  a  few 


25. — Method  by  which  coach  or  carriage  travellers  were  conveyed  across  a 
stream  in  the  days  when  journeys  in  wheeled  vehicles  were  first  becoming 
possible.  If  the  ferry  boat  was  a  small  one,  the  horses  were  compelled  to 
swim. 

localities  and  the  first  wheeled  vehicles  and  sedan  chairs 
had  appeared. 

The  early  population  of  these  two  colonies  differed 
from  that  which  established  itself  in  the  North  in  as  strik¬ 
ing  a  degree  as  did  the  economic  conditions  of  the  two 
regions.  From  the  first  there  existed  in  the  South  a 
sharper  social  cleavage  in  the  population  than  was  to  be 
found  in  New  England  and  the  intermediate  settlements. 
It  practically  divided  the  people  of  the  South  into  two 
classes,  one  of  which  had  brought  to  America  and  trans¬ 
planted  here  all  those  qualities  and  customs  that  had 

89 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


long  distinguished  the  man  of  culture  and  landed  pro¬ 
prietor  of  England.  The  other  class,  numerically  the 
greater  but  of  infinitely  less  consequence  in  directing  the 
political  and  social  affairs  of  the  people  during  the  first 
century,  was  made  up  of  small  independent  husband¬ 
men  from  abroad  or  from  the  northern  settlements,  and 
of  agricultural  employees  and  retainers  of  the  rich.  The 
language  of  Lord  Calvert  in  cataloguing  his  first  party 
of  settlers  as  “twenty  gentlemen  and  three  hundred  labor¬ 
ers”  gives  a  fairly  good  idea  of  the  distinction  that  long 
existed  between  the  two  sorts  of  inhabitants.  The  body 
of  the  population  performed  the  labor  necessary  in  trans¬ 
forming  a  vast  primeval  forest  into  a  civilization.  Its 
members  felled  and  burned  the  huge  trees,  made  potash 
from  their  ashes,  planted  the  soil,  built  the  log  cabins  and 
propelled  the  boats  when  journeys  were  made.  Their  lives 
were  dedicated  to  severe  and  unceasing  toil,  to  eating, 
sleeping  and  fighting.  There  is  little  need  for  wonder  that 
they  left  practically  no  annals  of  the  years  they  lived  in. 
They  spent  their  days  in  doing  things;  not  in  telling  about 
them.  And  in  the  performance  of  the  tremendous  task 
that  had  fallen  to  their  lot  they  were  sustained  by  a 
strength  not  appreciated  by  themselves.  They  and  their 
ancestors  had  never  been  on  speaking  terms  with  luxury 
and  they  were  not  able,  through  personal  knowledge  and 
understanding,  to  compare  their  situation  with  a  less  stern 
necessity.  It  was  well  for  America  that  this  was  so. 

The  other  class  organized  and  directed  the  activities 
of  the  time,  valiantly  led  their  fellow  men  in  battle  when 
need  arose  and  sought,  in  the  utmost  degree  permitted 
by  their  surroundings,  to  perpetuate  on  the  edge  of  an 
immense  wilderness  all  those  refinements  and  light  diver¬ 
sions  of  society  without  which  their  situation  must  have 

90 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


been  intolerable.  They,  much  more  than  the  bulk 
of  their  fellows,  had  need  of  other  interests  which  could 
distract  them  for  a  time  from  the  problem  they  had  at¬ 
tacked.  Even  they  did  not  behold  their  task  as  we  do, 
for  they  were  in  actual  contact  with  it,  and  so  could  not 
•  mentally  grasp  its  full  proportions.  Only  a  distant  view 
and  a  perspective  like  the  one  of  to-day  could  do  that. 
Such  travel  as  they  were  able  to  enjoy  was  to  England  or 
to  the  northern  colonies  aboard  little  vessels  bearing  car¬ 
goes  of  their  tobacco. 

So  the  South  slowly  grew,  and  each  plantation  or 
settlement  created  its  own  little  lost  and  forest-circled 
world,  the  uttermost  limits  of  which  included  only  the 
other  humans  within  a  radius  of  forty  or  fifty  miles  — 
a  day’s  hard  horseback  journey.  Usually  the  geographical 
distance  within  which  neighborly  intercourse  was  con¬ 
stantly  maintained  was  decidedly  less  than  that.  The  rare 
occasion  which  brought  about  a  more  general  gathering 
of  the  population  was  a  prearranged  hunt  for  wild  pigs1 
or  a  meeting  at  some  common  center  for  a  carnival  of 
horse  racing  or  other  sport.  To  events  like  these  the 
landed  proprietors  and  numbers  of  the  less  important 
figures  of  the  population  would  often  journey  through 
the  woods  for  a  hundred  miles  or  more.  It  was  out  of 
such  early  assemblages  that  later  grew  the  fairs  held  at 
Norfolk  and  other  towns,  to  which  the  populace 
travelled  in  still  larger  numbers.  These  meetings,  and 
the  experiences  gained  by  them,  had  much  to  do  with 
the  establishment  of  permanent  land  routes  of  travel  that 
gradually  came  into  existence. 

The  type  of  landed  gentlemen  who  from  the  first 
so  indelibly  impressed  their  character  and  traditions  on 

1  Doubtless  the  ancestors  of  the  “razor-backs”  still  found  in  some  woods  of  the  South. 

91 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


the  life  of  the  South  can  be  well  portrayed  by  reference 
to  a  certain  prominent  and  highly  esteemed  young  soldier 
and  pioneer  named  Colonel  George  Washington.  He 
came  somewhat  late  upon  the. scene,  but  in  him  were 
embodied  not  only  the  attributes  that  had  ruled  the 
region  for  generations,  but  other  traits  that  presaged 
the  American  of  the  future.  More  than  any  other 
man  of  his  era  or  of  all  the  colonies  up  to  that  time, 
he  seems  to  have  penetrated  the  future  with  a  prophet’s 
half-veiled  vision  and  beheld  a  little  of  the  needs 
and  restlessness  of  an  unborn  nation,  and  the  ap¬ 
proaching  demand  for  means  of  swift  and  comfortable 
movement  throughout  the  land.  Yet  in  that  respect  he 
was  not  a  miracle  of  omniscience,  any  more  than  he  was 
the  perfect,  self-sacrificing,  wholly  immaculate,  austere 
and  almost  godlike  man  into  which  later  generations, 
moral  precepts  and  millions  of  school-books  have  hope¬ 
lessly  transformed  him. 

He  was  a  serious  minded  human  being  of  extraor¬ 
dinary  ability,  self-control  and  justifiable  self-confidence 
into  whose  character  was  woven  the  executive  instinct, 
somewhat  of  selfish  thrift,  and  an  unusual  power  for  com¬ 
manding  the  best  endeavor  of  other  men.  He  had  a  keen 
appreciation  of  the  value  —  in  public  affairs  —  of  a  large 
dignity  and  sobriety,  and  in  private  life  showed  a  strongly 
developed  fondness  for  the  good  things  of  this  world. 
The  respect  in  which  Washington  was  great  above  his 
contemporaries  did  not  lie  in  his  abilities,  for  numerous 
men  of  his  time  were  as  able  as  he,  but  in  a  certain  rare 
quality  of  the  will  by  virtue  of  which  he  could  effectively 
isolate  and  apply  those  abilities,  each  in  its  appropriate 
circumstance  and  time.  Many  men  are  equipped  by  na¬ 
ture  as  he  was,  and,  despite  opportunity,  remain  mediocre 

92 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


in  deeds  accomplished,  for  they  lack  that  one  further  thing 
without  which  the  rest  are  valueless  possessions  —  a  self 
created  and  dogged  determination  to  apply  their  powers 


with  utmost  skill  and  effort  to  the  tasks  which  confront 
them.  That  is  a  gift  which  nature  does  not  bestow. 

Like  any  other  gentleman  of  the  period  he  drank 
his  half  pint  or  pint  of  wine  at  dinner,  together  with  addi¬ 
tional  punch  and  beer.  He  would  ride  ten  miles  to  attend 
a  dance  and  skip  about  for  three  hours  without  sitting 
down  after  he  got  there.  He  spent  whole  days  over  the 
card  table  and  bought  his  cards  by  the  dozen  packs  at  a 
time.  He  raced  his  horses,  bet  his  money  on  their  chances 
to  win,  and  delighted  when  they  came  home  in  front  of 
all  the  rest.  In  a  period  of  two  months  he  had  visitors 
from  other  plantations  on  twenty-nine  days,  and  himself 

93 


26. — Picturesque  bridges,  supported  by  huge  logs  or  hewed  timbers,  began  to 
appear  as  soon  as  wagons  came  into  general  use. 


'Oft*/??'.  -  ... 


/.'  ■.)  .  / 


i  :  I 

■  ■  ‘  y 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


went  away  on  seven  other  occasions.1  He  gathered  about 
him,  in  the  shadow  of  the  wilderness,  a  library  of  the 
best  books  in  history,  literature  and  the  arts,2  and  read 
them.  Other  men  of  his  class  did  the  like  in  all  respects. 
It  was  their  necessary  way  of  life ;  an  antidote  for  a  seden¬ 
tary  and  immobile  existence  and  their  endless  battle 
with  the  rude  conditions  of  a  new  country.  But  the  other 
sort  of  people  had  no  such  diversions.  The  forest  fell 
before  the  “greatest  wielders  of  the  ax  the  world  has 
known;”  the  smell  of  burning  wood  hung  always  in  the 
air;  a  haze  of  smoke  drifted  over  the  clearing. 

Gradually,  as  the  regions  still  farther  to  the  south¬ 
ward  were  invaded  by  the  white  race  there  came  increas¬ 
ing  rumors  back  to  the  northward  of  their  fertility  and 
mildness  of  climate.  Rumors  at  length  changed  to  more 
or  less  authentic  information,  and  then  began  a  slow  but 
constantly  increasing  stream  of  travel  toward  them  from 
New  England  and  the  middle  colonies.  Some  of  the  more 
important  movements  of  the  sort  have  already  been  men¬ 
tioned.  The  Carolinas  had  been  occupied  by  various  drib¬ 
lets  of  immigration  from  other  colonies  during  the  period 
from  1653  to  1740, 3  and  several  parties  from  abroad  had 
also  arrived.  The  Ashley  River  region  was  peopled  by 
the  English  in  1670,  and  two  years  later  saw  the  site  of 
Charleston  occupied.  Quite  a  number  of  Huguenot 
refugees  also  came  to  the  country  after  the  revocation 
of  the  edict  of  Nantes  in  1685,  and  settled  along  Cooper 
River.  By  the  year  1689  the  territory  now  known  as 
North  Carolina  and  South  Carolina  held  some  five  or 
six  thousand  inhabitants,  and  in  1693  the  region  was 

1  He  tells  of  these  various  things  in  his  “Journal.” 

2  The  large  part  of  his  books  is  now  in  the  Athaneum  in  Boston. 

3  See  list  of  early  organized  migrations  in  Chapter  III.  Some  of  those  who  journeyed 
into  the  Carolinas  from  Virginia  did  so  in  order  to  escape  the  harsh  measures  of  govern¬ 
ment  that  followed  an  insurrection  in  the  last  named  colony. 

94 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


divided  into  two  colonies.  The  population  of  the  north¬ 
ernmost  of  the  two  at  that  time  had  been  mainly  secured 
through  migrations  from  other  American  settlements,' 
and  the  principal  points  at  which  the  newcomers  had 
gathered  were  around  the  Albemarle  section.  It  was  to 
Albemarle  that  the  New  Englanders  came  and  to  which 
the  Virginians  fled  after  the  uprising  there.  The  southern 
colony,  on  the  contrary,  was  more  strongly  influenced  and 
peopled  by  settlers  direct  from  England,  Scotland  and 
Ireland,2  and  their  first  important  centers  of  activity  were 
the  Ashley  River  and  Charleston. ,  Gradually  the  coast 
settlements  spread  and  threw  off  fragments  that  made 
their  way  into  the  interior. 

Georgia  did  not  appear  on  the  map  of  American  terri¬ 
tory  permanently  occupied  by  the  English  speaking  race 
until  1733.  In  the  previous  November  Oglethorpe3  had 
reached  Charleston  from  England  with  thirty-five  fami¬ 
lies4  chosen  to  be  the  nucleus  of  a  new  invasion,  and  leav¬ 
ing  them  in  the  South  Carolina  town  he  set  out  to  visit  the 
unknown  country  that  was  his  destination.  Travelling  by 
canoe  he  finally  reached  the  spot  destined  to  become  Sa¬ 
vannah,  bought  land  from  the  Indians  there,  and  his 
little  company  took  up  in  its  turn  the  conquest  of  the 
wilderness.  The  progress  of  Oglethorpe’s  colony  was 
slow,  despite  the  arrival  of  several  parties  of  Italians, 
Salzburgers  and  Scotch  during  the  next  few  years.  In 
1736  Oglethorpe  brought  over  two  hundred  and  two  more 
colonists,  among  whom  was  John  Wesley.  Augusta, 
which  was  founded  in  1734,  had  but  forty-seven  in- 

1  Though  about  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  a  few  Swiss  and  Germans 
settled  at  Newbern. 

-  Other  elements  that  entered  into  the  early  population  of  South  Carolina  were 
parties  of  German  Palatines  that  came  over  after  1720,  and  some  Swiss  that  settled  near 
the  Savannah  River  about  1732. 

3  He  had  received  a  grant  from  the  Crown. 

4  A  hundred  and  thirty  souls,  all  told. 

95 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


habitants  in  1741,  exclusive  of  a  small  garrison  of  soldiers, 
and  in  1752,  when  the  colony’s  charter  was  surrendered  to 
the  crown  of  England  it  contained  only  about  two  thou¬ 
sand  three  hundred  white  people  and  a  thousand  slaves. 
They  had  made  scarcely  any  impression  on  the  forests 
that  surrounded  them,  and  moved  about  hardly  at  all. 

But  little  more  need  be  said  concerning  general  condi¬ 
tions  in  the  South  as  they  were  just  before  the  commence¬ 
ment  of  the  population  movements  that  introduced  a  new 
era  into  the  history  of  America.  Florida  was  merely  the 
shuttlecock  of  foreign  wars,  alternately  held  by  Spain  and 
England,  and  her  affairs  bore  no  relation  to  the  greater 
events  of  permanent  human  progress.  Alabama  was  an 
unknown  country  with  a  slight  fringe  of  settlements  along 
the  coast.  Mobile,  the  chief  of  them,  was  a  little  town 
hedged  in  by  a  stockade  and  held  by  the  English  from 
1763.  New  Orleans,  like  Florida,  was  the  shifting  prize 
of  European  warfare.  France  owned  the  Louisiana 
province  until  1762,  when  she  ceded  it  to  Spain,  and 
England  was  scheming  to  possess  it.  New  Orleans 
had  already  become  a  place  of  considerable  importance 
and  contained  some  eight  hundred  houses  and  about 
four  thousand  inhabitants.  It  was  surrounded  by  the 
inevitable  stockade,  two  and  a  half  miles  in  diameter. 
Nearly  six  thousand  other  people  lived  in  the  neighbor¬ 
hood  of  the  city,  whose  activities  extended  up  the 
Mississippi  to  a  little  French  settlement  called  St.  Louis, 
far  off  in  the  interior  of  the  continent.  Boats  some¬ 
times  went  up  the  river  to  St.  Louis,  taking  two  or  three 
months  for  the  trip,  but,  as  has  already  been  said,  the 
navigation  of  the  Mississippi  at  that  time,  or  during  its 
control  by  European  nations,  was  not  a  factor  in  the  de¬ 
velopment  of  the  American  travel  system. 

96 


CHAPTER  VII 


THE  FIRST  AMERICANS  WHO  MARCHED  TO  THE  WEST  — 
THEIR  ANCESTRY,  QUALITIES,  APPEARANCE  AND  MAN¬ 
NER  OF  LIVING  —  LOG  CABINS,  THEIR  CONSTRUCTION, 
FURNISHINGS  AND  INDUSTRIES  —  NATURE  OF  THE 
EDUCATION  OF  THE  HILL  PEOPLE  OF  THE  SOUTH  — 
THEIR  PECULIAR  FITNESS  FOR  THEIR  APPROACHING 
TASK  —  THE  REPUBLIC  OF  WAUTAGA 

WE  may  now  return  to  the  region  included  at  present 
in  western  and  southwestern  Virginia,  western 
North  Carolina  and  eastern  Tennessee,  and  consider  the 
people  who  were  the  first  Americans  to  take  up  their 
march  toward  the  West,  together  with  the  conditions  that 
produced  them  and  out  of  which  their  performance  grew. 
Those  men  and  women  were  Americans  by  birth  and 
habit,  and  although  the  date  of  the  exploits  soon  to  be 
told  was  as  early  as  the  period  between  1769  and  1779,  the 
population  that  performed  them  could  even  then  look 
back  through  several  generations  of  ancestry  which,  like 
themselves,  had  grown  up  within  the  shadow  of  the  woods 
and  fought  for  life  and  substance  with  the  same  primitive 
conditions.  They  were  the  descendants  of  the  bands  of 
restless  spirits  that  came  down  by  overland  marches  from 
the  more  northern  localities  of  Pennsylvania  and  New 
England  during  the  north-and-south  migrations  of  the 
period  from  1735  onward,  and  who  had  brought  with 
them  into  the  South  not  only  the  traditional  knowledge  of 

97 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


border  existence  but  a  lifetime  of  personal  experience  as 
well. 

So  —  as  a  race  —  they  had  no  new  things  to  learn. 
The  instinct  of  the  pioneer  was  in  them,  and  a  cool  cau¬ 
tion,  surprising  alertness,  bravery  and  entire  self-reliance 


27. — A  backwoodsman  and  his  dog.  The  cabin  dwellers*  clothing  was  all  of 
home  fabrication,  and  made  of  linsey-woolsey  or  deer  skin.  Original  sketch 
by  Joshua  Shaw.  This  and  the  following  fifteen  illustrations,  to  No.  42 
inclusive,  constitute  a  series  showing  conditions  of  pioneer  life  and  travel 
in  the  wilderness. 


marked  all  their  acts.  They  had  no  schools,  but  a  boy’s 
education  nevertheless  began  as  soon  as  he  could  walk. 
His  lessons  were  not  mere  words  for  the  brain  to  mem¬ 
orize  and  the  tongue  to  repeat;  they  were  the  methods  in 
which  things  were  done  and  results  accomplished  by  people 
older  than  himself,  and  it  was  his  duty  to  observe  those 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


processes,  comprehend  their  purpose  and  duplicate  them 
with  equal  skill.  He  learned  the  lessons  well,  for  he  knew 
that  many  times  his  life  would  depend  on  his  proficiency. 
At  the  age  of  twelve  or  fourteen  his  father  handed  him  a 
rifle  and  he  ceased  to  be  a  boy.1  With  that  act  he  became 
a  man,  having  his  man’s  share  of  responsibilities  in  the 
community  and  his  particular  loophole  to  defend. 

The  education  of  the  girl  was  a  similar  process.  By 
the  time  her  brother  had  received  his  rifle  she  had  mas¬ 
tered  all  the  duties  of  a  housewife.  When  a  boy  went  on 
an  errand  he  did  not  go  spinning  over  the  country  on  a 
bicycle  or  clattering  along  the  pavements  on  roller  skates. 
He  took  down  his  rifle  from  its  pegs  on  the  wall,  looked  at 
the  priming  and  started  across  the  clearing  with  every 
sense  alert,  and  with  a  mind  so  trained  that  the  appearance 
and  condition  of  all  the  objects  about  him,  together  with 
the  action  of  beast  or  bird  and  each  other  detail  on  the 
face  of  earth,  spoke  its  true  meaning.  Though  he  had 
received  no  schooling  in  the  fashion  of  later  days  he  had 
long  been  enrolled  in  nature’s  university  —  the  forest. 
All  its  varied  aspects  and  voices  had  been  his  teachers  at 
an  age  when  the  boys  of  nowadays  are  still  flying  kites 
and  playing  marbles.  He  had  received  his  degree  in  the 
difficult  art  of  self-preservation,  and  was  about  to  enter 
on  a  post-graduate  course  in  rearing  a  family  and  increas¬ 
ing  his  stock  of  worldly  goods.  Many  of  those  little  men 
and  women  were  married  at  the  age  of  fifteen  or  sixteen, 
and  the  rigid  training  they  had  received  in  self-reliance 
and  the  serious  concerns  of  life  made  them  competent  to 
assume  such  relationship  and — measured  by  the  standards 
of  the  time  —  to  win  success. 

1  Long  before  reaching  the  age  indicated  he  had  become  an  expert  with  the  weapon. 
The  presentation  of  a  rifle  at  that  period  of  life  had  somewhat  the  quality  of  a  ceremonial, 
and  was  intended  to  impress  upon  him  his  standing  among  the  elders. 

99 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


In  personal  appearance  the  people  reflected  the  condi¬ 
tions  under  which  they  lived.  Their  faces,  brown  from 
exposure  to  the  elements,  were  singularly  set  in  expression 
and  carried  a  sort  of  grimness.  Nothing  surprised  them. 
The  happening  of  every  event  was  discounted  in  advance. 
Its  coming  was  calmly  awaited,  and  whatever  action  it 
demanded  from  them  was  performed  so  quickly  that  it 
seemed  rather  to  be  by  instinct  than  as  the  result  of 
thought  or  reason.  Their  eyes  were  the  distinguishing 
feature  of  their  countenances.  Clear,  inscrutable  and  di¬ 
rect,  the  vision  of  man  or  woman  saw  everything.  When 
talking  with  one  another  they  spoke  eye  to  eye.  While 
about  their  work,  in  the  open  or  the  forest,  a  single  glance 
had  the  gathering  power  of  a  fisherman’s  net  and  the  anal¬ 
ysis  of  a  microscope.  But  the  chief  quality  and  value  of 
such  a  look  was  its  instant  perception  of  the  abnormal. 
Trained  from  babyhood  to  recognize  the  normal  appear¬ 
ance  of  all  things  about  him,  the  eye  of  the  woodsman 
automatically  ignored  what  was  undisturbed  and  pounced 
on  whatever  was  as  it  should  not  be.  A  footprint  of  any 
sort  shrieked  like  a  ten-inch  shell,  and  a  single  leaf  stand¬ 
ing  on  edge  when  it  should  have  been  lying  flat  made  him 
halt  and  ask  the  question,  “Why?” 

Those  early  Americans  carried  no  superfluous  flesh. 
Somewhat  above  the  average  height,  as  men  and  women 
go,  they  were  lean  and  supple.  Their  ancestors  had  been 
dwellers  in  the  hills  before  them,  and,  of  choice,  had  come 
into  a  mountainous  country  to  make  their  new  homes. 
Much  walking  and  incessant  labor  had  given  them  great 
endurance.  The  strength  of  their  rough  hands  could 
break  bones.  Those  who  were  weak  died  early,  and  many 
of  the  rest  lived  until  they  were  killed  in  one  way  or  an¬ 
other.  They  walked  with  a  soft  and  swinging  stride,  keep- 

100 


28. — Backwoodsmen  at  work  in  the  forest.  “Greatest  wielders  of  the  ax  the  world  has  known.”  Showing  details 

of  dress  and  the  type  of  instrument  by  which  the  wilderness  was  swept  away. 

Original  sketch  by  Joshua  Shaw. 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


in g  themselves  always  well  poised,  for  no  man  ever  knew 
whether  his  next  move  would  be  a  leap  to  the  right  or  to 
the  left,  a  dive  behind  a  log,  a  dash  ahead  or  a  rush  back¬ 
ward  over  the  path  he  had  come.  Then  again  he  might 
decide  to  climb  a  tree.  He  could  never  tell  beforehand. 
Circumstances  decided  those  things.  They  were  a  nerv¬ 
ous  people  in  a  certain  sense,  yet  they  held  themselves 
with  such  a  grip  that  they  seemed  almost  phlegmatic. 
Nerves  —  or  at  least  any  indulgence  in  the  state  of  mental 
excitability  which  has  become  a  modern  disease — were 
not  in  harmony  with  the  surroundings.  When  a  man  or 
woman  aimed  a  rifle  the  body  that  upheld  it  was  like  a 
carved  figure.  And  after  the  smoke  floated  away  there 
was  no  exultation  to  be  seen ;  only  the  same  outward  calm¬ 
ness.  Every  task,  whatever  its  degree  of  importance,  and 
no  matter  how  swiftly  it  was  to  be  performed,  was  under¬ 
taken  with  careful  and  methodical  process.  Each  indi¬ 
vidual  sought  to  save  his  strength  by  planning  his  acts  be¬ 
forehand,  that  no  energy  might  be  wasted  by  indecision  or 
misdirected  effort  when  the  need  for  action  came  upon 
him. 

Such  were  the  qualities  of  the  people  and  the  methods 
by  which  they  adapted  themselves  to  the  country  their 
fathers  had  invaded.  Perhaps  no  race  has  ever  been  more 
successful  than  they  were  in  fitting  themselves  to  the  nat¬ 
ural  conditions  around  them  and  for  the  work  they  were 
destined  to  accomplish. 

A  glance  at  any  map  will  reveal  the  character  of  the 
region  in  which  they  lived.  It  was  a  rough  country  whose 
chief  natural  feature  was  a  confusion  of  hills  and  moun¬ 
tains  that  as  a  general  rule  extended  in  parallel  ridges 
from  northeast  to  southwest.  Between  the  ranges  were 
valleys  through  which  ran  many  rapid  and  usually  shal- 

102 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


low  rivers  and  lesser  streams.  In  the  valleys,  but  near  to 
the  hills,  were  set  up  the  homes  of  this  strong  primitive 
population.  When  the  original  migrations  took  place  the 
forest  swept  over  the  whole  land,  mountain  and  valley 
alike,  in  its  untouched  and  forbidding  aspect.  During 
the  years  that  had  gone  by  since  then  a  multitude  of  little 
clearings  had  been  made  by  the  mountaineers,  whose  num¬ 
bers  had  rather  rapidly  increased.  The  number  of  people 
who  lived  in  the  hills  of  western  North  Carolina  and 
western  Virginia  at  the  time  their  organized  exodus  began 
can  not  be  accurately  given,  but  perhaps  it  amounted  to 
fifteen  or  twenty  thousand  souls. 

All  their  efforts  had  made  but  small  impression  on  the 
forest.  The  number  of  trees  to  be  felled  in  such  work  was 
so  incalculable  and  their  individual  size  so  great  that  they 
cumbered  the  ground.  There  was  no  way  to  move  them 
and  nowhere  to  have  taken  them  if  the  moving  had  been 
possible.  Nor  was  there  any  use  to  which  they  could  be 
put.  They  had  to  be  burned  where  they  fell.  The  timber 
used  for  fuel,  and  in  building  cabins,  making  fences  and 
fashioning  household  furniture  was  such  an  infinitesimal 
part  of  the  whole  mass  as  to  be  unworthy  of  mention. 

So  far  as  travel  facilities  and  opportunities  for  getting 
about  the  country  were  concerned,  the  hill  people  of  the 
South,  from  1735  to  the  time  of  the  Revolution,  faced  just 
the  same  situation  that  confronted  the  Pilgrims  and  Puri¬ 
tans  in  1635.  They  were  beginning  all  over  again,  in  their 
part  of  the  continent,  a  process  of  evolution  that  had  else¬ 
where  been  in  active  operation  for  a  century  or  more. 
They  had  a  few  Indian  trails  and  some  horses,  but  mainly 
depended  on  their  own  legs.  The  streams  that  were  nar¬ 
row  were  spanned  by  log  bridges,  and  at  various  well- 
known  points  on  the  wider  rivers,  big  flat-bottomed  ferry 

103 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


boats  were  built,  and  kept  for  the  common  use  of  the 
inhabitants.  Canoes  were  also  used,  but  not  nearly  to  the 
extent  that  prevailed  in  the  early  days  of  New  England. 
Most  of  them  were  made  from  logs,  and  were  called  dug- 
outs.  The  one  big  advantage  possessed  by  the  mountain¬ 
eers  over  the  earlier  inhabitants  of  the  North  was  to  be 
found  in  their  habits  and  qualities  rather  than  in  any 
phase  of  their  natural  surroundings.  In  truth  the  country 
they  lived  in  offered  much  less  inducement  to  easy  move¬ 
ment  than  that  of  the  former  Americans  with  whom  they 
are  here  compared.  But  the  southerners  were  an  even 
bolder  and  more  self-reliant  people,  as  might  have  been 
expected  of  a  race  with  three  generations  of  wilderness 
experience  as  an  inheritance.  They  were  more  easily 
adaptable  to  conditions. 

No  settlements  that  resembled  towns  were  to  be  found 
in  the  hills.  The  cabins  of  the  settlers  —  each  with  its 
clearing  —  showed  a  tendency  to  spring  up  beside  some 
attractive  stream  along  which  they  might  be  scattered, 
over  a  distance  of  a  dozen  miles,  to  the  number  of  fifty  or 
more.  Each  of  these  loosely  connected  communities,  as 
soon  as  it  was  large  enough,  used  its  common  effort  in 
building  at  a  convenient  point  a  blockhouse  and  stockade 
for  mutual  defense.  Later  the  people  often  put  up  a  log 
church  in  whose  pulpit  of  rough  oaken  slabs  certain  ones 
of  the  valley  presided  in  turn,  while  the  rest  of  the  people 
sat  on  benches  beneath  them.  On  rare  occasions  a  genuine 
ordained  preacher  of  the  gospel  —  a  circuit  rider  on  a 
salary  of  fifty  or  seventy-five  dollars  a  year  —  sent  word 
that  he  would  visit  one  of  the  chapels.  When  such  an 
event  was  to  happen  the  tidings  of  it  went  through  many 
valleys,  and  on  the  appointed  Sabbath  day  there  assem¬ 
bled  a  company  drawn  from  all  the  country  round.  Every 

104 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


tree  near  the  log  structure  was  a  hitching-post  where 
weary  horses  stood,  while  the  men  and  women  who  had 
ridden  them  crowded  within  to  listen  to  a  real  sermon 
redolent  of  brimstone  and  filled  with  the  deep,  sincere 
and  devout  feeling  that  reflected  the  inward  lives  of  the 
congregation.  The  hill  men,  for  all  their  roughness,  were 
an  earnest  and  religious  people  who  clung  fast  to  an  abid¬ 
ing  belief  that  their  affairs  were  swayed  by  a  guidance 
higher  than  their  own. 

Though  the  region  was  far  removed  from  effective 
legal  control,  crime  was  practically  non-existent.  Such  a 
tie  of  common  need  and  dependence  as  bound  the  popula¬ 
tion  together,  added  to  the  labor  of  their  existence,  op¬ 
erated  strongly  to  suppress  any  tendency  toward  internal 
disorder.  It  must  be  said,  nevertheless,  that  the  white 
men  assumed  an  attitude  toward  the  Indians  that  was  not 
always  in  harmony  with  the  recognition  they  gave  to  the 
rights  of  one  another.  In  this  respect  they  were  far  from 
being  exceptional.  Such  regulation  of  their  mutual  af¬ 
fairs  as  seemed  necessary  was  largely  a  matter  of  common 
consent,  and  in  every  district  there  were  a  few  figures 
who,  as  always  under  like  conditions,  were  looked  upon 
as  leaders  of  the  rest. 

The  homes  of  the  people  were  a  faithful  mirror  of 
their  character  and  surroundings.  To  those  little  cabins 
of  the  early  centuries  of  American  development  a  fascinat¬ 
ing  interest  has  always  clung,  and  strong  as  that  attraction 
has  been  it  is  destined  to  be  greater  still  in  the  future,  as 
more  attention  is  paid  by  each  succeeding  generation  to 
the  formative  period  of  national  life.  More  and  more 
it  is  coming  to  be  realized  that  America  has  a  history 
which  underlies  the  catalogue  of  her  wars  and  political 
wrangles;  a  history  that,  because  of  the  conditions  amid 

105 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


which  it  developed  and  the  problems  it  solved,  contains  an 
interest  to  rival  the  story  of  any  other  nation.  Nothing  is 
better  fitted  to  be  a  symbol  of  that  narrative  than  the  log 
cabin,  for  if  but  one  such  habitation  and  its  contents  had 
survived  we  could,  with  no  other  knowledge  whatsoever 
of  the  period  it  represented,  reconstruct  from  it  and  its 
furnishings  the  qualities,  habits  and  methods  of  those 
early  people  with  a  striking  approximation  to  the  truth. 

Log  cabins  were  always,  when  possible,  built  by  com¬ 
munity  effort.  On  an  appointed  day  the  neighbors  of 
the  man  who  needed  a  house  appeared  on  the  spot  se¬ 
lected,  inquired  the  intended  dimensions  of  the  cabin,  and 
began  chopping  down  seventy  or  eighty  of  the  tallest  and 
straightest  small  trees  in  the  immediate  neighborhood.1  A 
common  size  for  the  house  was  about  twenty  feet  long  by 
sixteen  feet  wide,  often  with  a  low  room,  or  upper  floor, 
under  the  sloping  roof.  When  the  felled  trees  had  been 
chopped  into  proper  lengths  the  logs  thus  made  were 
rolled  to  the  site  picked  out.  These  preliminary  processes 
required  two  or  three  days. 

Two  logs  each  sixteen  feet  long2  and  of  greater  thick¬ 
ness  than  the  others  were  then  put  in  position  twenty  feet 
apart,  and  at  each  end  of  each  log  a  deep  notch  was  cut  on 
the  upper  surface  extending  through  about  one-third  of 
its  diameter.  Two  other  logs,  each  twenty  feet  long  and 
correspondingly  thick  were  next  fitted  with  notches  at  the 
ends,  both  above  and  below,  and  were  laid  on  the  first  pair, 
into  which  their  lower  notches  dovetailed.  A  foundation 
was  thus  obtained  that  lifted  the  body  of  the  cabin  some 
three  feet  above  the  ground.  About  a  dozen  slender  logs 

1  The  most  common  trees  of  the  southern  forest  were  the  oak,  cottonwood,  mulberry, 
hickory,  sycamore,  persimmon,  ash,  locust,  tulip,  walnut,  fir,  birch,  pine,  chestnut,  maple, 
beech  and  hemlock. 

2  If  the  cabin  was  to  be  of  the  dimensions  named,  as  is  supposed  in  this  description. 

106 


29. — After  the  ax  had  passed.  The  stumps  were  left  to  rot.  Only  a  trifling  fraction  of  the  timber  was  needed  for 

fences,  fuel,  cabins  and  home-made  furniture.  The  fallen  trees  covered  the 

ground  and  had  to  be  burned  where  they  fell. 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


sixteen  feet  long  and  usually  ten  inches  in  diameter  were 
laid  at  regular  intervals,  so  that  they  extended  from  one  of 
the  twenty-foot  logs  to  the  other.  These  were  to  serve  as 
a  support  for  the  thin  slabs  of  wood1  that  were  later  to  be 
laid  on  them  as  a  floor.  The  process  with  large  logs  al¬ 
ready  described  was  then  recommenced,  each  tier  notched 
and  fitting  into  the  transverse  timbers  above  and  below 
until  the  walls  had  been  built  to  a  height  about  seven  feet 
above  the  floor.  Another  row  of  slender  logs  was  added  at 
this  point  as  the  top  of  the  lower  room  and  the  floor  of  the 
one  above.  Three  or  four  courses  of  heavy  trees,  as  before, 
completed  the  body  of  the  structure. 

At  either  end  of  the  upper  framework  a  stout  little 
tree,  about  six  feet  tall  and  so  cut  as  to  present  two  short 
diverging  limbs  at  the  top,  was  set  up,  and  from  one  such 
crotch  to  another  the  ridge  pole  was  placed  in  position. 
The  roof  itself  was  formed  by  wide  slabs  of  wood  hewed 
bodily  out  of  large  trees2  and  placed  on  the  topmost  tier 
of  side-logs  with  their  upper  ends  converging  and  resting 
on  the  ridge  pole.  To  keep  the  roof  slabs  in  position  a 
long  log  was  laid  over  their  lower  ends  at  each  side  of  the 
cabin.  Its  extremities  rested  on  the  upper  tier  of  end-logs, 
which  had  been  kept  unusually  long  for  this  purpose,3  and 
it  was  in  turn  held  secure  by  means  of  heavy  wooden  pins. 
Other  timbers  were  placed  over  the  roof  slabs  in  similar 
manner,  and  the  body  of  the  cabin  was  complete. 

The  doors  and  windows  were  sawed  out  after  all  logs 
were  in  place,  and  their  edges  were  cased  with  slabs  to 
keep  the  walls  from  sagging.  There  was  no  glass,  and  all 
openings  were  protected  by  strong  doors.  The  window 
panes  were  made  of  paper  —  when  it  could  be  obtained  — 

1  Called  puncheons  by  the  pioneers. 

3  This  process  was  one  of  extreme  labor. 

3  See  picture  reproduced. 


108 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


plentifully  coated  with  hogs’  lard  or  bear  grease.  The 
big  fireplace  was  constructed  of  large  flat  stones,  and  the 
chimney  was  built  of  sticks  laid  in  the  same  alternating 
manner  as  were  the  timbers  of  the  house,  with  the  chinks 
of  the  chimney  structure  filled  and  covered  with  clay  that 
was  soon  hardened  by  the  heat.  All  spaces  between  the 
logs  were  then  stopped  up  with  mud  and  moss  and  gener¬ 
ally  plastered  over  with  clay  in  addition.  Slabs  were  laid 
for  the  floors,  a  perpendicular  ladder  of  five  or  six  rounds 
served  as  a  staircase,  and  the  domicile  was  finished.  The 
whole  job  ordinarily  took  about  a  week,  but  was  often 
done  in  less  time  if  six  or  eight  men  were  busy  in  the 
work.  Not  a  scrap  of  metal  had  entered  into  its  con¬ 
struction.  It  was  wholly  a  product  made  from  materials 
found  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  spot  where  it  stood 
ready  for  occupancy. 

The  furnishings  of  the  cabin  were  as  simple  as  the 
structure  itself.  Sometimes  the  chairs  were  short  sections 
sawed  from  the  trunk  of  a  hickory  tree,1  but  often  they 
were  more  ornate  and  pretentious  affairs,  consisting  of  a 
slab  of  green  wood  stuck  on  top  of  three  legs.  One  type  of 
table  was  a  similar  contrivance,  but  with  four  legs,  and 
movable.  The  other  sort  was  built  permanently  against 
the  wall  at  one  side,  with  its  other  edge  on  sticks.  The 
bed  frame  was  usually  held  up  at  one  side  by  supports 
driven  into  the  wall.  On  it  were  laid  the  inevitable  slabs, 
and  then  a  bedtick  filled  with  chaff,  pine  needles  or  dried 
moss.  Up-stairs,  if  there  was  an  up-stairs,  were  more  beds, 
and  smoked  meat  and  dried  herbs  that  hung  from  the  roof. 
Pillow  covers  and  sheets  were  almost  unknown.  Of 
blankets,  though,  there  was  usually  an  abundance.  Beside 
the  larded  window  through  which  the  sunshine  came  with 

1  Such  a  chair  was  called  a  “block.” 

109 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


golden  mellowness  stood  a  home-made  spinning-wheel, 
and  on  puncheon  shelves  around  the  walls  were  a  few 
dishes,  pots  and  kettles.  Near  the  fireplace  and  doorway 
hung  rifles  and  yellow  powder  horns,  and  somewhere, 
perhaps,  there  was  a  comb  and  bit  of  looking-glass.  But 
there  was  a  limit  to  extravagance.  Forks  and  spoons  were 
either  whittled  out  of  wood  or  made  by  a  blacksmith,  and 
the  knives  served  for  a  large  variety  of  other  purposes  that 
need  not  be  discussed.  One  other  feature  of  the  cabin 
that  deserves  mention  was  a  habit  often  displayed  by 
the  floor  and  furniture.  Owing  to  the  haste  with  which 
everything  was  built  the  flat  slabs  of  wood  that  entered  so 
largely  into  the  construction  of  the  home  were  usually  put 
in  place  while  still  in  a  green  state,  and  the  heat  from  the 
big  fireplace  caused  them  to  warp  amazingly.  A  bed  so 
made  would  soon  undulate  beneath  its  occupants  like 
the  waves  of  the  sea;  the  dinner  would  all  slide  to  the 
center  of  the  table  and  the  floor  would  curl  up  like  a 
porcupine. 

Each  little  settlement  constituted  an  independent  and 
self-supporting  establishment1  and  the  cabin  itself  was  a 
veritable  industrial  institution.  The  man,  or  some  neigh¬ 
bor  more  skilled  than  he  in  metal  working,  made  his  rifle, 
ax,  hoe  and  sickle.  Ploughs  were  usually  brought  into 
the  wilderness  from  a  coast  town,  though  occasionally  they 
were  forged  on  the  spot.  The  head  of  the  family  made  all 
the  house  furnishings,  his  wife’s  loom  and  spinning-wheel, 
shaped  dishes  out  of  wood,  and  contrived  a  hand-mill  for 
grinding  corn.  The  hominy  block  was  a  piece  of  hickory 
tree  trunk  with  a  bowl-shaped  depression  burned  into  it  at 
one  end.  The  boys  helped  their  father  in  all  such  things, 

1 A  wilderness  settlement  produced  all  its  own  necessities  of  life  excepting  powder, 
lead,  salt  and  iron.  Salt  was  made  at  several  places  in  the  colonies  where  salt  springs 
had  been  found,  and  from  thence  laboriously  carried  over  the  country,  by  boat  as  far  as 
possible.  Wild  honey  served  for  sugar. 


110 


_The  home  and  clearing  of  a  backwoodsman.  It  was  a  gash  cut  in  the  universal  forest,  with  a  cabin  and  farm  buildings 

made  of  logs. 


1 


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’ 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


and  dried  the  strips  of  venison  over  the  fire1  after  the  day’s 
work  in  the  open  was  done.  As  each  new  baby  arrived  its 
elder  brothers  made  a  cradle  of  bark  for  the  little  stranger. 
When  the  man  wanted  a  new  suit  of  clothes  he  tanned  and 
worked  deer  and  raccoon  skins  into  pliability  and  turned 
them  over  to  his  wife,  who  cut  them  and  sewed  them  to¬ 
gether.  Such  a  suit  was  considered  to  fit  well  if  it  did  not 
hamper  its  owner’s  movements  in  any  way.2  His  cap  was 
of  skin  with  the  fur  on,  and  his  shoes  were  soft  moccasins, 
as  were  the  foot  coverings  of  all  the  family. 

Cloth  was  called  linsey-woolsey,  and  was  a  mixture  of 
flax  and  wool  made  by  the  wife  by  carding  and  spinning. 
From  it  she  created  her  jacket,  petticoat  and  poke  bonnet. 
Once  in  a  while  she  made  coats  and  trousers  for 
her  husband  or  the  boys  out  of  the  same  home-made 
fabric.  The  girls  helped  their  mother  in  her  household 
manufacturing,  knit  their  own  heavy  stockings  and  made 
similar  socks  for  the  men.  They  also  cut  and  sewed  the 
bedticks  and  filled  them,  collected  pine  knots  to  serve  as 
lamps  in  the  summer  evenings,  made  the  soap,  learned 
how  to  distinguish  such  herbs  as  were  used  as  remedies  in 
time  of  sickness,  and  hung  them  up  to  dry. 

Actual  money  was  a  thing  of  fable,  having  no  place  in 
such  a  community.  If  a  man  by  some  strange  chance  came 
into  possession  of  those  curious  pieces  of  copper  or  silver 
he  hastened  to  swap  them  for  something  of  practical  use, 
and  kept  to  himself  his  opinion  of  the  man  who  took  them. 
All  necessities  of  life  had  their  accepted  ratios  of  value 
to  one  another,  and  needed  things  were  got  by  barter. 


1  It  was  then  called  “jerked  meat,”  and  was  hung  up  under  the  roof  for  future  use. 

2  A  deerskin  suit  was  often  decorated  with  fringes  at  the  bottom  of  the  coat  and 
down  the  sides  of  the  trousers.  They  were  of  similar  skin  cut  into  narrow  ribbons  and 
were  sometimes  dyed  red  or  blue.  City-made  boots,  any  kind  of  a  hat  and  coats  with 
buttons  on  them  were  esteemed  sure  evidence  of  snobbishness  and  were  severely  frowned 
upon. 


112 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


Skins  of  all  useful  sorts  came  nearer  to  actual  currency 
than  anything  else. 

Powder,  salt,  iron,  and  lead  for  bullets  were  brought  in 
from  distant  towns  on  the  coast  or  to  the  northward,  and 
were  carried  overland  in  as  large  quantities  as  the  nature 
of  the  country  would  permit.  Powder,  in  the  cities,  was 
worth  about  two  dollars  and  a  half  a  pound  and  lead 
about  sixteen  cents.  When  the  hill  people  needed  fresh 
stocks  of  such  things  they  sent  out  bales  of  skins  by  some  of 
their  number,1  and  in  that  way  got  the  few  commodities 
they  could  not  produce  themselves. 

There  was  an  intimate  relationship  between  all  these 
conditions  and  the  travel  impulse  that  so  suddenly  sprang 
into  existence  from  amid  them.  For  the  social  organiza¬ 
tion  here  described  was  the  only  one  that  could  success¬ 
fully  have  conducted  such  a  movement.  It  was  as  though 
some  far-seeing  power  had  long  since  planned  a  westward 
advance  of  the  population,  and,  without  disclosing  its  pre¬ 
determined  purpose,  had  trained  the  people  for  the  part 
they  were  to  play  in  history.  No  army  of  soldiers  could 
have  made  the  journey  on  which  the  cabin  dwellers 
of  the  southern  mountains  were  soon  to  set  forth.  It  was  a 
task  far  beyond  the  ability  of  military  discipline  merely, 
and  the  larger  the  force  of  trained  automatons 
which  had  attempted  it,  the  speedier  and  more  complete 
would  have  been  the  disaster  that  must  have  followed. 
The  westward  advance  through  the  wilderness  was  one  of 
those  few  instances  of  record  in  which  the  attendant  con¬ 
quest  was  made,  not  primarily  by  the  force  of  weapons,  but 
by  the  adaptability  of  the  invaders  to  their  new  surround¬ 
ings  and  a  resourcefulness  as  self-sustaining  domestic  arti- 


1  The  pack-train  method  of  travel  by  means  of  which  this  intercourse  was  carried  on 
will  be  described  in  a  later  chapter. 

113 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


sans  rather  than  as  warriors.  Such  conquests  are  always 
vital  to  the  region  affected.  A  military  army  scars 
the  land  that  feels  its  presence,  but  after  a  time  it 
either  retreats,  or,  ceasing  to  be  an  army,  is  absorbed  by 
the  country  it  has  reached,  and  its  visit  becomes  a  para¬ 
graph  in  text-books.  But  when  in  earlier  times  white  men 
of  Anglo-Saxon  stock  resolved  on  an  expedition  from 
which  there  could  be  no  retreat,  and  to  whose  success 
there  must  be  no  alternative,  they  did  not  begin  it  with 
guns  and  food  alone.  Instead,  they  burdened  themselves 
down  with  their  women  and  children,  dogs,  pots,  pans  and 
cattle,  and  started  into  the  unknown.  The  eras  of  such 
spectacles  are  past,  and  considering  them  from  these  later 
days  it  can  be  understood  how  needless  were  the  fears 
with  which  more  timid  souls  sometimes  looked  on  such 
hegiras.  The  multitudinous  details  of  human,  inani¬ 
mate,  and  four-legged  baggage  that  paralyzed  speed  and 
seemed  to  presage  failure  were  the  elements  that  made 
success  inevitable.  Without  them  the  men  could  have 
returned. 

The  first  symptom  of  the  permanent  invasion  of  the 
region  beyond  the  mountains  was  seen  in  1771  and  1772, 
when  a  little  stream  of  people  drifted  down  toward  the 
southwest  from  Pennsylvania  and  northern  Virginia  into 
the  broad  valley  that  is  bounded  on  the  west  by  the  Cum¬ 
berland  Mountains  and  on  the  east  by  the  Unaka  or  Great 
Smoky  range. 

Through  it  ran  the  various  branches  of  the  Clinch  and 
Holston  Rivers,  that  empty  into  the  Tennessee.1  The  men 
travelled  under  the  trees  on  foot,  while  the  women  and 
household  goods  were  loaded  on  the  horses,  and  the  elder 
children  drove  the  cows  and  pigs.  It  was  a  journey  that, 

1  Heretofore  referred  to  in  these  pages  as  the  Cherokee  River. 

114 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


save  in  its  greater  length,  was  in  many  respects  a  repetition 
of  the  march  of  Pastor  Hooker  and  his  congregation 
through  the  wilds  of  Massachusetts  a  hundred  and  thirty- 
five  years  before.  The  political  boundaries  of  the  colonies 
were  rather  vague  in  those  times,  and  the  people  of  these 
little  bands,  knowing  that  the  upper  part  of  the  valley 
was  a  part  of  Virginia,  thought  the  region  where  they 
stopped  to  build  their  cabins  and  make  clearings  in  the 


forest  was  also  in  that  colony.  It  was  not,  but  was  theo¬ 
retically  under  the  jurisdiction  of  North  Carolina,  and 
was  later  to  become  the  extreme  eastern  part  of  the  present 
state  of  Tennessee.  They  were  so  far  removed  from  any 
other  civilization,  and  so  much  out  of  the  reach  of  any 
government  that  they  soon  proceeded  with  all  deliberation 

115 


31. — Usual  type  of  a  cabin  dweller’s  home.  The  method  of  building  such  a 
house  is  described  in  this  chapter.  Habitations  like  this  were  the  abodes  of 
nearly  all  Americans,  except  town-people,  for  a  century  and  a  half. 


Pioneer  Life  in  the  West, 


I  _ 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


to  set  up  in  their  valley  a  little  republic  of  their  own. 
It  was  called  Wautaga,1  from  a  small  stream  that  empties 
into  the  Holston  River,  and  it  had  a  formal  written 
constitution,2  which  was  the  first  instrument  of  the  sort 
drawn  up  by  Americans  west  of  the  mountains.  The 
affairs  of  the  state  were  administered  by  a  legislature  of 
thirteen  men.  Five  of  these  were  appointed  to  carry  on 
the  executive  and  judicial  business  of  the  republic.  Courts 
were  organized  with  stated  sittings,  and  an  instance  of 
their  authority  and  methods  lies  in  the  case  of  a  horse 
thief  who  was  arrested  on  a  Monday,  tried  on  Wednesday 
and  hanged  on  Friday. 

Wautaga  negotiated  formal  treaties  with  surrounding 
nations  of  Indians,  and  for  six  years  its  machinery  of 
government  successfully  administered  all  its  affairs,  while 
the  people  themselves  built  their  cabins  and  blockhouses, 
felled  the  forest,  raised  crops  and  fought  against  the  In¬ 
dians  whenever  war  with  the  natives  occurred.3 

On  one  occasion  hostilities  between  the  red  men  and 
Wautaga  broke  out  with  such  suddenness  that  the  settlers 
had  to  run  pell-mell  to  a  fort  without  thought  of  saving 
any  of  their  possessions.  When  finally  behind  shelter  with 
whole  skins  they  began  to  consider  what  they  had  left  in 
the  cabins,  and  somebody  cried  out  that  they  had  forgotten 
the  Bibles  in  the  church.  Forthwith  a  sally-party  was  or¬ 
ganized  and  left  the  stockade  to  secure  the  volumes,  while 
the  rest  of  the  population  awaited  in  suspense  the  result 
of  the  attempt.  Shots  were  heard  at  intervals,  and  at  last 

A> 

1  Also  spelled  Watauga  and  Wataga. 

2  The  phraseology  of  the  document  unfortunately  has  not  survived. 

3  The  principal  Indians  of  the  South  were  the  five  Appalachian  confederacies  called 
the  Cherokees,  Chickasaws,  Choctaws,  Creeks  and  Seminoles.  They  lived  principally  in 
permanent  settlements,  and  were  not  nomadic  in  the  sense  that  many  other  tribes  were. 
Their  number  is  believed  to  have  reached  about  70,000.  The  tribe  with  which  the  early 
white  invaders  of  the  South  had  the  most  trouble  was  the  Cherokees,  who  lived  in  the 
mountains  of  Tennessee,  the  Carolinas,  Alabama  and  Georgia.  In  all  its  essential  features 
and  underlying  causes  the  border  warfare  in  the  South  between  the  two  races  resembled 
the  troubles  in  the  North  that  have  been  described. 

116 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


the  men  were  seen  to  be  on  their  way  back  with  every 
appearance  of  triumph.  A  jubilation  attended  their  re¬ 
turn  and  the  demonstration  of  joy  was  soon  discovered  to 
be  justified.  For  the  party  had  not  only  rescued  the  Bibles, 
but  had  stopped  on  the  way  back  and  scalped  eleven  In¬ 
dians.  This  was  in  1776.  Two  vears  afterward  North 
Carolina  took  charge  of  things  and  the  sovereignty  of  the 
little  backwoods  republic  disappeared  for  all  time. 

Shortly  before  the  incident  of  Wautaga  there  had  en¬ 
tered  into  this  history  one  of  its  two  commanding  human 
figures.  His  name  was  Daniel  Boone,  and  in  his  personal¬ 
ity  and  exploits  were  centered  the  beginning  of  the  events 
with  which  we  have  now  to  deal. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


POPULAR  IGNORANCE  OF  THE  COUNTRY  BEYOND  THE  ALLE- 
GHANIES  —  DANIEL  BOONE  COMES  ON  THE  SCENE  — 
HOW  HE  GOT  HIS  LOVE  OF  FORESTS  AND  SOLITUDE  — 
EIGHT  GO  AWAY  AND  TWO  COME  BACK  —  THE  RESOLVE 
OF  THE  CABIN  DWELLERS  —  BEGINNING  OF  THE 
WESTWARD  COURSE  OF  EMPIRE  —  A  CARAVAN  ON  THE 
MARCH  —  A  TEMPORARY  CHECK  —  THE  SCHEME  OF 
THE  TRANSYLVANIA  COMPANY 

THERE  were  three  principal  reasons  that  impelled 
thirty  thousand  people  of  the  South  to  turn  their 
backs  on  established  homes  within  the  space  of  a  few  years 
and  “wander  through  the  wilderness  of  America  in  quest 
of  the  country  of  Kentucke.”1 

One  cause  was  the  comparative  congestion  of  the 
population  immediately  to  the  eastward  of  the  unseen 
land;  a  second  was  strong  popular  protest  against  illegal 
taxes  and  the  display  of  luxury  based  on  oppression;2  the 
third  was  an  interest  suddenly  born  of  tales  that  described 
the  character  of  the  West.  A  few  other  minor  elements 
contributed  toward  the  impulse,  but  these  three  factors  in 
the  life  of  the  cabin  dwellers,  all  coming  simultaneously 
into  operation,  started  the  travel  through  the  forests. 

It  is  hard  to  realize  that  an  almost  complete  ignorance 
of  the  region  west  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains  continued 
among  the  English  speaking  population  until  such  a  little 

1  Boone’s  quaint  description  of  the  movement. 

2  For  an  extended  understanding  of  the  domestic  troubles  of  the  North  Carolina  peo¬ 
ple  see  “Historical  Sketches  of  North  Carolina,”  by  John  H.  Wheeler. 

118 


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A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


while  ago  as  1767.1  For  nearly  a  hundred  and  fifty  years 
the  colonists  had  bustled  up  and  down  the  coast  of  the 
continent;  the  wilderness  had  given  way  to  cities,  towns 
and  farms;  Indian  trails  had  grown  into  busy  roads  that 
served  as  arteries  for  a  rapidly  growing  travel  and  com¬ 
merce.  On  the  west  of  the  narrow  little  strip  so  occupied 
stood  a  few  parallel  ranges  of  low  mountains  and  beyond 
them  —  mystery.  Speaking  of  that  strange  condition  a 
few  years  after  it  had  ceased  to  exist,  the  state  of  affairs 
which  prevailed  in  1767  was  described  by  Chief  Justice 
John  Marshall  in  the  following  words : 

“The  country  beyond  the  Cumberland  Mountain,  still  appeared  to 
the  dusky  view  of  the  generality  of  the  people  of  Virginia,  almost  as  ob¬ 
scure  and  doubtful,  as  America  itself  to  the  people  of  Europe,  before  the 
voyage  of  Columbus.  A  country  there  was  —  of  this  none  could  doubt, 
who  thought  at  all ;  but  whether  land  or  water,  mountain  or  plain,  fer¬ 
tility  or  barrenness,  preponderated  —  whether  inhabited  by  men  or  beasts, 
or  both,  or  neither,  they  knew  not.  If  inhabited  by  men,  they  were  sup¬ 
posed  to  be  Indians  —  for  such  had  always  infested  the  frontiers.  And 
this  had  been  a  powerful  reason  for  not  exploring  the  region  west  of  the 
great  Mountain,  which  concealed  Kentucky  from  their  sight.” 

If  the  cabin  people  of  the  South  seem  to  have  been  un¬ 
wittingly  trained  for  the  task  they  were  nowT  to  accomplish, 
so  was  Daniel  Boone  in  like  manner  fitted  by  inheritance 
and  personal  experience  for  his  own  individual  work  of 
leading  the  march  of  a  population  through  a  wilderness.2 

1  In  1750  Doctor  Thomas  Walker,  of  Virginia,  made  a  trip  to  the  headwaters  of  the 
Kentucky  River  and  discovered  Cumberland  Gap.  Christopher  Gist  visited  the  Scioto 
River  as  early  as  1751.  In  1765  George  Croghan  descended  the  Ohio,  and  in  1766  James 
Smith  explored  parts  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee.  But  the  general  public  knew  little  of 

these  expeditions. 

2  His  grandfather  before  him — parent  of  nine  sons  and  ten  daughters — had  left 
England  because  that  country  seemed  to  be  getting  too  crowded  for  him.  He  wanted 
more  room,  so  he  came  to  America  in  1717  with  nine  sons  and  two  daughters,  and  bought 
a  tract  of  land  in  Pennsylvania  near  a  frontier  post  in  Bucks  County.  There  Daniel’s 
father  was  married  and  lived,  also  with  a  wife  and  eleven  children,  until  about  the  year 
1752  or  1753,  when  he  in  turn  felt  the  need  of  wider  spaces  and  became  one  of  those  who 
joined  the  previously  mentioned  migrations  toward  the  South.  Daniel  —  the  date  of 
whose  birth  is  uncertain,  but  which  was  possibly  in  1732  or  1735  —  was  some  eighteen  or 
twenty  years  old  when  this  pilgrimage  took  place.  His  youth  had  been  spent  in  the  neces¬ 
sary  manner  of  the  time,  and  he  had  already  shown  somewhat  of  those  qualities  of  lead¬ 
ership  in  the  affairs  of  frontier  life  that  were  later  to  be  so  much  more  strikingly  dis¬ 
played.  The  march  of  the  Boone  family  was  through  the  forests  of  Maryland,  Virginia 
and  North  Carolina  to  the  locality  of  its  future  home  in  the  western  part  of  the  Old 
North  State  near  the  South  Yadkin,  a  branch  of  the  larger  river  bearing  the  same  name. 
There  Daniel  was  married  and  became  the  father  of  nine  children. 

120 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


To  a  well-defined  hereditary  instinct  that  demanded 
freedom  of  movement  and  wide  areas  for  action  had  been 
added  a  youth  spent  on  the  frontier  and  the  experience, 
gained  at  the  most  impressionable  period  of  life,  while  his 
father’s  family  was  journeying  through  the  woods.  Be¬ 
sides  all  this  he  was  fascinated  by  speculation  regarding 
the  country  that  lay  beyond  the  mountains,  to  whose  east¬ 
ward  base  he  often  penetrated  during  his  earlier  years 
on  the  Yadkin.  These  qualities  are  believed  to  have 
resulted  in  a  number  of  extensive  trips  toward  the  west 
for  exploring  and  hunting  purposes  that  may  have  begun 
as  early  as  1760,1  some  of  which  were  made  in  company 
with  other  men  and  some  alone.  But  of  these  half  legend¬ 
ary  expeditions  nothing  certain  can  be  said.  As  of  a  large 
proportion  of  the  events  of  the  time,  no  contemporary 
evidence  of  them  exist.  Human  life  and  action  are  lost 
behind  the  veil  that  hides  those  years  like  a  thistledown 
that  has  floated  away  in  the  wind. 

But  with  the  year  1769  there  begins  in  the  pathmaker’s 
career  a  period  of  known  things.  It  beheld  the  com¬ 
mencement  of  a  journey  by  Boone  which  was  to  arouse 
all  the  North  Carolina  and  Virginia  cabins  and  suggest 
to  the  dissatisfied  population  a  means  whereby  they  might, 
with  one  stroke,  be  rid  of  their  troubles  and  solve  the 
mystery  of  the  West.  In  May  of  that  year  a  party  of  six 
men,  of  whom  Boone  was  leader,  set  out  to  penetrate  far 
beyond  the  mountains  into  the  country  south  of  the  Ohio 

1  On  a  beech  tree  that  stood  near  the  Wautaga  River  in  the  extreme  eastern  corner 
of  Tennessee  and  west  of  the  Great  Smoky  Mountains  until  as  late  as  the  early  years  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  could  be  seen  the  following  ancient  inscription  cut  by  the  knife 
of  a  hunter: 

D.  Boon 

Cill  ED  A  BAR  On 
ThE  Tree 
In  yEAR 

1760 


121 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


River.1  For  more  than  a  month  the  woodsmen  travelled 
steadily  to  the  westward  and  on  the  seventh  day  of  June, 
after  several  hours  spent  in  ascending  a  low  range  of  hills, 
they  reached  the  top  of  an  eminence  and  saw  stretching 
away  beneath  them  an  immense  and  luxuriant  country 
spread  out  like  a  map  and  watered  by  a  pleasant  river. 
Even  as  they  looked  upon  the  scene,  and  realized  that  their 
quest  was  done,  they  beheld  innumerable  bison  and  deer 
moving  over  the  open  spaces  that  lay  like  islands  amid  the 
sea  of  cane-brakes  and  woods.  The  spot  from  which  they 
gazed  down  into  the  country  of  “Kentucke”  is  believed  to 
be  in  Morgan  County,  of  that  state. 

Here  the  wanderers  made  camp  and  lived  and  hunted 
for  more  than  six  months.  They  were  in  that  neutral 
territory  used  by  the  Indians  of  both  the  North  and  the 
South  as  a  hunting  ground,  and  not  permanently  occupied 
by  natives  of  any  tribe.  Though  the  red  men  must  have 
known  of  their  long  journey  and  presence  they  were  not 
molested  until  December,  when  Boone  and  Stuart,  while 
on  an  excursion,  were  suddenly  made  prisoners.  They 
were  intruders  in  the  sight  of  the  Indians,  who  treated 
them  with  kindness  and  displayed  no  other  design  than 
to  take  them  out  of  the  country.  On  the  seventh  night  of 
the  captivity  Boone  contrived  their  escape  without  attack¬ 
ing  the  sleeping  natives,  and  the  two  white  men  returned 
with  caution  to  their  camp.  The  other  four  were  not 
there,  nor  from  that  day  did  any  man  have  knowledge 
of  them.  Nevertheless  the  two  persisted  in  remaining,  and 
in  the  following  month,  while  they  were  hunting  in  the 
woods,  a  younger  brother  of  Boone2  and  another  white  man 

JThe  other  members  of  the  expedition  were  John  Finley  (or  Findley),  James  Moncey, 
Joseph  Holden,  William  C  ool  and  John  Stuart.  All  were  experienced  frontiersmen,  and, 
like  Boone,  had  made  previous  trips  in  the  same  drection. 

2  He  was  Squire  Boone,  named  after  his  father.  The  identity  of  the  other  man 
is  unknown. 


122 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


from  the  Yadkin  calmly  walked  up  to  them.  That  meet¬ 
ing  in  the  wilderness  was  an  instance  of  the  ability  with 
which  backwoodsmen  came  to  practise  the  art  of  wood¬ 
craft.  Squire  Boone  and  his  companion  had  come  four 
hundred  miles  through  unknown  forests  and  found  the 
objects  of  their  search,  of  whose  whereabouts  they  had 
no  previous  knowledge.1  Soon  after  this  incident  Stuart 
was  killed  by  Indians.  That  left  three.  Then  Squire’s 
unknown  companion  failed  to  come  back  one  night,  and 
of  the  eight  who  had  left  North  Carolina  there  remained 
only  Daniel  Boone  and  his  brother. 

Still  the  survivors  persisted  in  their  sojourn,  repre¬ 
sentatives  of  a  race  that  was  never  afterward  to  relinquish 
the  land.  By  May  the  ammunition  of  the  brothers  ran 
low  and  Squire  spent  three  months  in  a  trip  to  North 
Carolina  to  replenish  their  stock,  rejoining  Daniel  in  July. 
During  those  months  Daniel  Boone,  solitary  premonitor  of 
white  supremacy,  not  only  evaded  captivity  or  death  by 
the  exercise  of  a  skill  quite  beyond  present  understanding, 
but  actively  explored  central  Kentucky.  He  gained  an 
intimate  acquaintance  with  the  country  in  all  its  features. 
Of  this  period  Boone  afterward  went  so  far  as  to  say:  “I 
confess  I  never  before  was  under  greater  necessity  of  ex¬ 
ercising  philosophy  and  fortitude.  A  few  days  I  passed 
uncomfortably.”  Such  was  his  comment  on  a  situation  in 
which  any  ordinary  man  might  have  been  killed  in 
twenty-four  hours  or  else  have  starved  to  death  in  a  week.2 
In  March  of  1771,  after  an  absence  of  almost  two  years 
in  the  wilderness,  Boone  suddenly  appeared  unscathed 
among  his  neighbors  on  the  Yadkin. 


1  Boone’s  family  had  begun  to  be  concerned  about  him,  and  had  sent  Squire  to  take 
more  ammunition  to  the  absent  one. 

2  Though  game  existed  in  abundance,  every  shot  made  to  secure  food  was  a  proclama¬ 
tion  of  his  presence  and  whereabouts. 

123 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


It  can  readily  be  imagined  with  what  interest  Boone 
was  greeted  on  his  return  from  such  a  journey.  His  neigh¬ 
bors  were  almost  excited.  The  time  was  one  in  which  acts 
of  valor  were  performed  by  many  men,  but  his  exploit 
stood  out  alone.  It  lifted  him  to  a  very  high  place  in  the 
estimation  of  those  who  knew  of  him,  for  the  people 
among  whom  he  lived  were  keen  in  estimating  the  char¬ 
acter  and  metal  of  their  fellows.  But  the  degree  of  bravery 
and  ability  that  the  man  had  displayed  was  overshadowed 
by  another  feature  of  the  expedition  which  his  tale  pre¬ 
sented.  His  elaborate  description  of  the  distant  region 
into  which  he  had  penetrated  was  so  inviting  that  its  de¬ 
sirability  as  a  place  for  white  habitation  was  apparent, 
and  at  once  took  first  place  in  the  public  consideration 
given  to  the  exploit.  Mere  bravery  had  always  been  ob¬ 
tainable  to  any  extent  when  wanted,  but  here  was  some¬ 
thing  much  more  rare  —  news  of  a  fair  country  where 
men  such  as  they  could  live  free  lives,  uncrowded  by  con¬ 
ditions  that  irked  them.  The  fact  that  but  two  had  come 
back  of  the  eight  who  had  gone  away  was  of  little  conse¬ 
quence.  Such  things  were  trifles  with  which  the  people 
had  always  been  familiar.  They  knew  that  more  children 
would  come  to  take  the  places  of  men  that  vanished  and 
so,  in  time,  they  would  win.  The  perils  of  the  forest  they 
could  endure,  but  to  hardships  imposed  on  them  by  other 
white  men  they  would  not  submit.  And  as  though  to 
clinch  the  matter  Boone  declared  his  determination  to 
take  his  family  into  the  far  country  where  he  had 
wandered. 

His  example  was  soon  followed  by  similar  declara¬ 
tions,  and  as  the  narrative  of  the  returned  traveller  made 
its  slow  way  through  the  scattered  population  and  its 
significance  grew  into  the  minds  of  the  cabin  dwellers, 

124 


'S&yt. 


Wm '  Q//rfa.W  <tm< 


7W« 


vr,E 


*4  -~/%s  ‘fir/  /{//f.t foro' Ca n nrm  . 
H  */Z>  At/  A#4p for  ,y//tt,U'rfo 
V  »  /Af  i^cw. 

fj  i.  f/w  ft  rr /t/nrtct . 
j * //tr  Anf/t/tr  ofo/ An  mnwra 


The  Plan  oPthc  tipper  Story. 

A  « Ww-fo-vt'S" : As/'r.yor  4 a n non.. 

B  'Mej/trcftAtt : 

C * 'Me  /rtfot  —f/kwr. 

ir//t-/t/frm>mt'rr1jsti  f/t 
\  /r>ttte?  >.  '■fortf/ntf/tY . 

E  ,/7tr  ( fforrrftj .  .fottt  r/mttnY . 
Y'-Y/tt  (xtf/rvu/t/trr  Sort. 

(r  J/tf  '/ft  nr/or t‘- 

M^r/rj  mtrde  .stt  //>t 
f/nnr.  A  /tt'r  tt /tort  j/tr  '* 


j  t  ^nr^ut/tytrr/rt 
(r\  ft./  a./ta  rtt/tr/, 


'Jf'S/'fi/ 


rt/M 


Hie  Plan  of  die  Ground  Floor  . 
-/  /ur/t.t* forr  f antinn ■-,' 

B  '  y/ts  /tw  /t/nft  . 
f'/y/tr/yAwr. 

/J./fc //rr/Artn.t  .  A 


Scale  of  Feet 


33. — Internal  arrangement  and  plan  of  the  preceding  blockhouse. 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


there  arose  and  spread  through  the  North  Carolina  and 
Virginia  hills  that  final  influence  which  was  to  start  the 
American  people  on  their  long  westward  march. 

The  next  two  years  were  spent  in  a  discussion  of  the 
impending  exodus  and  in  preparation  for  it.  Though 
many  were  anxious  to  get  away  from  the  conditions  that 
burdened  them,  and  eager  to  find  new  homes  in  the  dis¬ 
tant  Kentucky  region,  the  contemplated  migration  could 
not  be  commenced  offhand.  The  cabin  people  owned  tne 
little  log  huts  and  clearings  where  they  lived,  and  their 
properties  could  not  be  altogether  sacrificed.  Such  a 
radical  and  unparallelled  shift  demanded  forethought  and 
much  preliminary  arrangement,  even  on  the  part  Qf  a 
population  so  fertile  in  expedient  and  adaptibility  as  they 
were.  At  last  seven  families  were  ready,  including  the 
households  of  Daniel  and  Squire  Boone,  and  after  plans 
had  been  made  by  which  the  remaining  five  and  a  consid¬ 
erable  number  of  other  men  were  to  join  the  Boones  in 
a  nearby  valley,  the  day  came  for  the  start.  It  was  on 
September  25,  1773, 1  that  the  course  of  empire  began  to 
take  its  westward  way  from  the  banks  of  the  Yadkin.  The 
Boones  were  joined  by  the  remainder  of  the  party  accord¬ 
ing  to  arrangement,  and  when  the  two  divisions  of  the  ex¬ 
pedition  had  united  the  cavalcade  consisted  of  seven  fami¬ 
lies,  including  women  and  numerous  children  of  various 
ages,  and  about  forty  individual  men. 

At  the  head  of  the  column  marched  a  group  of  woods¬ 
men,  all,  of  course,  bearing  rifles.  Some  strode  on  foot, 
but  many  of  them  — perhaps  the  majority  —  were 
mounted  on  horses  that  walked  slowly  along.  They  wore 
loose  hunting  shirts  and  trousers  of  dressed  deerskins, 

1  According  to  Speed,  in  “The  Wilderness  Road,”  and  probably  correct,  though  Hart¬ 
ley,  in  his  “Life,”  puts  the  day  exactly  one  year  later. 

126 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


gayly  decorated  with  the  colored  fringes  so  widely  affected 
as  a  backwoods  fashion.  Their  feet  were  clad  in  moc¬ 
casins  and  on  their  heads  were  many  sorts  of  fantastic  caps 
of  skins,  or  of  linsey-woolsey,  each  fashioned  according  to 
the  whim  of  its  owner.  Every  man  was  girt  by  a  leather 
belt,  from  the  right  side  of  which  hung  a  tomahawk  to  be 
used  either  as  a  hatchet  or  for  some  more  violent  purpose. 
On  his  left  side  he  carried  his  hunting  knife,  a  full  powder 
horn,  a  leather  pouch  of  home-made  bullets  and  another 
larger  leather  pouch  holding  a  quart  or  two  of  parched 
corn.1  Each  man’s  rifle  lay  with  apparent  carelessness 
within  the  crook  of  his  elbow,  but  as  he  moved  onward 
his  glance  swept  ceaselessly  —  almost  unknowingly  — 
from  side  to  side,  pausing  with  each  swing  to  dwell  for 
an  instant  on  the  distance  ahead.  Behind  this  foreguard 
came  the  pack  animals  led  by  other  similarly  garbed  men 
or  boys,  and  bearing  the  women,  small  children,  provi¬ 
sions  and  household  goods.  The  women  sat  either  on 
pillion  saddles  similar  to  those  of  the  North  or  rode 
astride,  as  they  pleased.  The  younger  children  swung  in 
wicker  baskets  made  from  hickory  withes,  and  two  or 
three  horses  were  thus  loaded  with  the  next  generation, 
whose  members  had  nothing  to  do  but  eat  hoe-cake  and 
count  the  trees. 

Behind  the  pack  animals  came  a  small  drove  of  pigs 
and  several  cattle  —  those  ingredients  of  a  domestic  cara¬ 
van  that  regulate  its  speed  —  and  flanking  the  farm  ani¬ 
mals  were  still  other  men  on  horseback  to  keep  them  from 
straying  from  the  proper  path.  A  few  rifle  members  of 
the  expedition  marched  as  a  rear-guard  behind  all  the  rest. 
There  was  no  iron-clad  regularity  about  the  progress  of 
the  group  that  thus  made  its  way  through  the  forest.  Its 

1  Parched  corn  was  an  article  of  food  always  taken  on  forest  expeditions. 

127 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


individual  members  were  constantly  shifting  as  the  men 
stopped  to  chat  with  the  women,  or  as  they  argued  with 
a  reluctant  pig,  readjusted  the  ropes  of  bark  that  bound 
the  burdens  of  the  horses,  or  stole  off  into  the  woods  to 
shoot  a  deer  and  bring  back  its  carcass  for  the  next  meal. 
Dogs  frisked  about  the  legs  of  the  horses,  yelped  with 
excitement  as  they  found  the  scent  of  an  animal  in  a 
nearby  thicket,  and  distributed  showers  of  spray  after 
swimming  some  creek  that  the  rest  of  the  caravan  had 
forded. 

The  distance  covered  by  the  marchers  in  the  course 
of  a  day  varied  with  the  nature  of  the  country.  Perhaps 
the  average  was  about  ten  miles  of  advancement.  In  mid¬ 
afternoon  a  part  of  the  band  increased  its  speed  a  little 
to  find  a  camping-place,  leaving  the  stock  in  care  of  others 
who  brought  it  in  an  hour  or  so  after  the  foremost  had 
chosen  a  spot  for  the  night’s  sojourn.  Then  each  member 
of  the  expedition  fell  upon  his  appointed  task.  In  an 
incredibly  short  time  —  so  adept  were  they  in  such  neces¬ 
sary  duties  —  a  snug  shelter  made  from  the  limbs  and 
foliage  of  trees  was  raised  for  the  women  and  children; 
horses  were  relieved  of  their  burdens  and  tethered;  the 
stock  was  herded  and  put  under  guard ;  fires  were  kindled ; 
water  brought  from  a  clear  stream;  huge  slabs  of  venison 
were  broiled  on  ramrods  held  over  the  hot  coals;  corn 
pones  baked,  and  the  day’s  labor  was  done.  The  feast  was 
a  royal  one,  few  and  simple  though  its  ingredients  were, 
for  toil  such  as  theirs  and  the  air  they  breathed  bred 
appetites  whose  mere  possession  was  itself  a  luxury. 
People  did  not  nibble  at  dainty  luncheons  and  munch 
macaroons  in  those  days;  they  devoured  their  food  as  a 
fireman  throws  coal  into  a  furnace,  and  for  the  identical 
reason.  What  they  ate  was  the  fuel  that  carried  them 

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A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


onward.  Man  himself  was  the  engine  at  that  stage  of 
travel. 

After  the  meal  beside  the  camp-fire  the  petticoat  and 
juvenile  divisions  of  the  wandering  army  disappeared 
beneath  the  lean-to.  The  leather-clad  men  stretched  out 
their  long  legs  around  the  blazing  logs,  lit  their  clay  pipes 
and  puffed  big  clouds  of  rank  tobacco  smoke  up  toward 
the  stars  until  they  fell  asleep,  while  a  few  still  figures, 
that  almost  blended  with  the  shadows  amid  which  they 
crouched,  sat  with  rifles  ready  until  another  dawn  sepa¬ 
rated  the  branches  of  the  trees. 

No  direful  happening  befell  Boone’s  people  for  two 
weeks,  and  their  immunity  from  attack  by  Indians  up  to 
that  time  had  gradually  —  perhaps  to  an  extent  imper¬ 
ceptible  to  themselves  —  resulted  in  a  slackening  of  those 
methods  by  which  danger  of  the  sort  was  best  to  be 
avoided.  At  any  rate,  while  they  were  approaching  Cum¬ 
berland  Gap  on  October  6  the  men  who  were  driving  the 
stock  allowed  themselves  to  fall  behind  the  main  body 
by  five  or  six  miles  —  which  was  too  far  —  and  while  the 
two  divisions  of  the  party  were  so  separated  the  rear  body 
was  surprised  by  a  band  of  Cherokees,  and  six  of  its  seven 
members  were  killed.  Among  those  cut  off  was  Boone’s 
eldest  boy,  James,  a  fine  young  fellow  of  seventeen. 
The  sound  of  the  firing  brought  Boone  and  the  rest 
back  helter-skelter,  but  it  was  too  late.  This  attack 
by  the  red  men  was  significant  of  the  attitude  which 
the  natives  had  long  taken  toward  white  movement  along 
the  whole  border.  They  had  previously  allowed  Boone 
and  his  small  party  of  six  to  travel  four  hundred  miles 
to  the  west,  for  on  that  occasion  the  whites  were  obviously 
hunters  and  did  not,  to  the  Indian  mind,  presage  any 
general  advance  into  or  permanent  occupancy  of  the  terri- 

130 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


tory  so  highly  prized  by  the  natives.  But  no  sooner  did 
the  same  white  leader  start  into  the  forbidden  region  with 
women  and  children  and  every  other  plain  proof  of  an 
intention  to  settle  on  the  interior  lands  than  the  whites 
were  attacked.  The  difference  in  the  two  groups  was 
plain  to  the  Indians.  They  looked  on  the  white  men  as 
one  tribe  or  allied  tribes;  white  men’s  treaties  and  prom¬ 
ises  had  often  been  broken,  and  now  the  proclamation  of 
1763  was  in  peril  of  violation  also.1  So  the  red  men 
killed.  It  was  their  last  resort  against  those  strange,  obsti¬ 
nate,  grasping,  palefaced  people  who  seemed  never  con¬ 
tent  to  stay  where  they  once  settled,  but  were  always 
edging  just  a  few  miles  farther  in  the  wrong  direction.2 

Boone  and  the  rest  held  a  consultation  after  the  attack 
and  it  was  agreed  to  stop  for  a  time  in  the  most  westward 
permanent  white  settlements,  on  the  Clinch  River  in 
Virginia,  and  there  await  a  better  season  and  reinforce¬ 
ments  before  continuing  the  journey.  This  they  did. 
There  was  no  thought  of  abandoning  the  plan  of  pro¬ 
ceeding  to  Kentucky. 

The  preparations  being  made  by  the  people  for  their 
removal  to  the  West  had  by  this  time  come  to  the  ears  of 
those  in  authority  in  the  two  colonies  affected  by  the 
agitation3  and  Governor  Dunmore  of  Virginia,  which 
state  claimed  all  territory  “West  and  Northwest”  to  the 
Mississippi  River,  promptly  decided  to  find  out  whether 
che  reports  concerning  the  Kentucky  region  were  true. 
So  he  organized  for  that  purpose  a  party  of  frontiersmen 

1  The  Cherokees  who  attacked  Boone’s  column  were  the  nation  whose  title  to  the  land 
tliey  held  had  been  ignored  by  Johnson  at  the  treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix,  despite  his  in¬ 
structions. 

2  In  the  absence  of  native  records  it  is,  of  course,  possible  to  attribute  the  attitude  of 
the  Indians  on  this  occasion  to  a  different  motive.  Their  attack  may  have  been  made 
merely  for  the  pleasure  of  killing.  A  due  consideration  of  conditions  then  existing,  and 
of  the  past  acts  and  character  of  both  races  must  be  our  principal  aid  in  determining 
which  explanation  is  the  more  reasonable. 

3  Boone’s  presence  in  the  Clinch  River  valley  of  Virginia  after  his  temporary  check 
spread  still  wider  a  knowledge  of  the  western  country. 

131 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 

and  surveyors  under  the  leadership  of  Captain  Thomas 
Bullitt.  Bullitt  led  his  men  over  the  trail  to  Pittsburgh, 
with  which  path  through  the  wilderness  he  was  familiar, 
and  there  the  party  built  boats  in  which  they  went  down 
the  Ohio  despite  the  dangers  attending  such  a  voyage  at 
that  time.  Dunmore’s  expedition  arrived  safely  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  future  Louisville,  built  the  usual 


35. — Pioneer  ferryman  navigating  a  small  canoe  by  means  of  a  setting-pole.  A 

sketch  by  Joshua  Shaw. 


timber  fort  as  a  base  of  operations,  explored  a  consider¬ 
able  territory  and  found  that  Boone’s  description  of  his 
discoveries  was  amply  justified. 

The  men  under  Bullitt  observed  with  amazement  the 
migrations  of  the  bison,  which  travelled  through  the  cane- 
brakes  and  forests  in  columns  containing  tens  of  thou- 

132 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


sands.  The  wide  roads  thus  made  by  the  animals,  who 
trampled  veritable  avenues  through  the  wilderness,  were 
at  once  adopted  by  the  white  men  for  their  own  use  in 
journeying  over  the  land  and  by  them  were  called  streets. 
From  that  time,  and  for  many  years  afterward,  buffalo 
streets  were  used  as  travel  routes  by  settlers  in  that  part 
of  the  country  as  they  gradually  pushed  the  herds  west¬ 
ward.  The  paths  created  by  armies  of  bison  moving  four 
or  five  abreast  were  driven  so  cleanly  through  the  woods, 
and  packed  so  firmly  under  the  hoofs  of  the  ponderous 
beasts  that  vegetation  required  years  in  which  to  reclaim 
them. 

While  Bullitt’s  men  were  still  remote  in  the  new 
country  it  became  evident  to  Dunmore  that  widespread 
trouble  with  the  natives  was  about  to  occur,  and  the 
governor  found  it  necessary  to  send  another  party  to  warn 
them  of  the  impending  danger  and  if  possible  bring  them 
back  to  civilization.1  He  therefore  summoned  Boone,  and 
the  pioneer  was  commissioned  to  attempt  the  task.  Start¬ 
ing  once  more  toward  the  West  in  June  of  1774,  Boone 
with  one  companion,  reached  the  Bullitt  party  and  con¬ 
ducted  them  safely  back,  making  the  round  trip  of  over 
eight  hundred  miles  in  the  remarkably  short  time  of  sixty- 
two  days,  an  average  of  almost  thirteen  miles  a  day.2  The 
expected  hostilities  soon  began,  and  for  a  time  no  further 
important  step  in  the  impending  exodus  toward  the  West 
could  be  taken.  Thus  we  get  a  glimpse  of  Dunmore’s 

1  And  a  few  other  bold  individuals  who  had  ventured  into  the  region  on  their  own 
responsibility  as  a  result  of  Boone’s  recital.  Among  the  others  were  James  Harrod  and 
some  companions  who  had  located  where  Harrodsburg  now  stands.  Their  camp  was  at 
first  known  as  Harrod’s  Town,  or  Old  Town.  The  Harrod  party  held  their  ground  for  a 
time,  though  warned  by  Boone,  and  in  July  a  party  of  them  was  attacked  and  dispersed. 
Ore  man  reached  the  Ohio  River,  hastily  made  a  bark  canoe,  went  down  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi  in  it  and  finally  got  back  to  Philadelphia  by  sea. 

Still  another  party  which  was  in  Kentucky  at  the  time  was  that  of  John  Floyd  and 
seven  others,  who  had  gone  down  the  Kanawha  and  Ohio  in  canoes  to  the  present  neigh¬ 
borhood  of  Louisville,  to  explore  and  survey.  The  Floyd  party  had  been  sent  out  by 
Colonel  George  Washington  and  Patrick  Henry.  Floyd  mentions  a  sycamore  tree  37 
feet  in  circumference.  He  and  his  men  got  back  to  the  Clinch  River  safely  in  August. 

2  Boone  nonchalantly  speaks  of  having  encountered  “many  difficulties”  on  the  journey. 

133 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


War  as  it  affected  affairs  in  the  South.  During  the  strug¬ 
gle  Boone  took  an  active  part  in  the  frontier  military 
operations  with  the  rank  of  captain.  When  peace  had 
been  made  he  went  back  to  the  settlement  where  his  family 
was  still  waiting  after  the  interrupted  journey  to  Ken¬ 
tucky.  From  that  point  he  was  soon  to  start  on  the  final 
enterprise  that  set  in  motion  the  general  tide  of  westward 
travel. 

Among  those  to  whom  Boone’s  exploits  had  most 
clearly  revealed  the  future  was  a  certain  James  Hender¬ 
son,  a  judge  and  man  of  prominence  in  North  Carolina, 
who  as  a  result  of  the  returned  explorer’s  story  had  con¬ 
ceived  the  idea  of  acquiring  and  settling  all  the  immense 
extent  of  country  bounded  by  the  Ohio,  Kentucky  and 
Cumberland  Rivers.1  For  that  purpose  he,  with  eight 
others,  organized  an  association  known  as  the  Transyl¬ 
vania  Company,  and  got  Boone  to  act  as  the  representative 
of  the  company  in  dealing  with  the  Indians  for  the  de¬ 
sired  tract.  The  coveted  region,  as  distinguished  from 
the  neutral  ground  to  the  west  and  south  of  it,  was  claimed 
by  the  Cherokees,  and  to  them  Boone  went.  There  is  no 
story  of  what  took  place  between  him  and  the  chiefs  of 
the  nation,  but  regarding  several  factors  that  led  to  the 
result  of  the  meeting  a  reasonable  certainty  can  be  enter¬ 
tained.  In  the  first  place  the  red  men  had  an  admiration 
for  Boone  and  respected  him.  He  had  conspicuously 
shown  himself  to  be  possessed  of  those  attributes  held  by 
the  natives  in  high  esteem,  whether  possessed  by  friend  or 
foe.  It  is  also  likely  that  the  head  men  of  the  Cherokess 
read  the  signs  of  the  times  aright,  and  knew  from  past 
native  experiences  that  if  they  did  not  then  strike  a 
bargain  for  the  territory  craved  by  the  whites,  and  get 

1  Some  have  even  suggested  that  Boone  may  have  first  gone  beyond  the  mountains  at 
the  request  of  Henderson. 


134 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


something  for  it,  they  would  in  the  end  lose  their  land 
anyway,  without  recompense.  At  all  events  they  agreed 
to  sell.  No  sooner  had  the  pledge  been  given  than  Boone 
hastened  away  to  take  a  certain  decisive  action  the  per¬ 
formance  of  which  had  depended  on  the  result  of  the 
negotiations,  meanwhile  sending  word  to  Henderson  of 
his  success.  These  things  happened  either  late  in  February 
or  in  the  earliest  days  of  March,  1775.  As  soon  as  Hender¬ 
son  knew  the  way  was  clear  for  his  company  to  proceed 
openly  he  hastened  to  Fort  Wautaga,  on  a  branch  of  the 
Holston  River  in  North  Carolina,  and  there  on  March  17, 
and  in  behalf  of  the  Transylvania  Company,  he  met 
twelve  hundred  natives  in  council  and  acquired  the  In¬ 
dian  title  to  the  country  just  described.1  For  the  land 
he  paid  a  price  that  has  been  variously  estimated  as  low 
as  ten  wagon  loads  of  cheap  goods  and  whisky,2  and  as 
high  as  the  equivalent  of  ten  thousand  pounds  sterling. 

The  work  that  Boone  had  hurried  away  to  undertake 
was  the  making  of  the  First  Road  through  the  wilderness. 

1  He  had  been  very  quiet  in  the  preliminary  work,  and  the  extent  of  his  plan  was 
unrealized  either  by  the  government  or  people. 

2  The  estimate  of  Dr.  Smith,  an  English  agent  of  Dunmore. 


CHAPTER  IX 


BOONE’S  WILDERNESS  ROAD  —  FIRST  TRAVEL  ROUTE  MADE  BY 
WHITE  MEN  TO  THE  INTERIOR  OF  THE  CONTINENT  — 
THE  WARRIORS’  PATH,  AND  HOW  BOONE  USED  IT  — 
WILLIAM  CALK’S  DIARY  OF  A  JOURNEY  TO  CAINTUCK 
—  ITS  VALUE  —  WHAT  THE  FIRST  MARCHERS  DID 
WHEN  THEY  REACHED  THE  PROMISED  LAND  —  THE 
FOOD  QUESTION  —  SOME  EFFECTS  OF  THE  WILDERNESS 
ROAD  ON  THE  FORTUNES  OF  THE  REVOLTING  COLONIES 


HE  party  which  Boone  gathered  to  aid  him  in  laying 


out  through  the  wilderness  a  plain  way  that  could 
be  followed  by  the  emigration  now  to  begin  numbered 
about  forty  men  in  all.  He  and  his  woodsmen  started 
westward  from  Fort  Wautaga  as  soon  as  the  natives  had 
pledged  themselves  to  hold  the  treaty  with  Henderson, 
leaving  the  Indians  to  await  that  gentleman’s  arrival. 
Pack-horses1  carried  their  necessary  equipment  and  pro¬ 
visions,  and  a  few  negroes  were  included  in  the  expedition 
to  care  for  the  animals  and  perform  camp  duties  during 
the  journey.  The  men  carried  axes. 

As  they  proceeded  Boone  chose  the  line  of  march,  and 
indicated  it  as  he  went  along  by  cutting  deep  notches  in 
prominent  trees  with  a  tomahawk.2  Behind  him  came 


1  The  pack-saddles  used  at  the  time  were  made  from  the  forked  branches  of  trees, 
and  were  bound  to  the  animals  by  broad  strips  of  deerskin.  In  order  to  fit  a  horse’s  back 
the  forked  branches  had  to  be  of  a  certain  peculiar  shape.  It  is  related  that  on  one  occa¬ 
sion  an  early  preacher,  while  exhorting  his  people  in  a  grove,  stopped  abruptly  in  the 
middle  of  his  appeal  to  call  the  attention  of  the  congregation  to  such  a  suitable  fork  in  a 
near-by  tree. 

2  The  marks  so  made  were  called  “blazes,”  and  the  process  of  thus  including  a  line 
of  travel  was  called  “blazing  the  way,”  or  “blazing  ahead.” 


136 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 

axmen  who  chopped  down  the  small  trees  it  was  desir¬ 
able  to  remove,  though  all  work  of  that  sort  was  avoided 
when  possible.  A  detour  was  always  preferred  by  moving 
pioneers  to  the  labor  of  hewing  a  swathe  through  the 
woods.  The  chief  obstacles  to  be  overcome  were  under¬ 
growth  in  the  forest  itself,  or  dense  thickets  on  lands  that 
held  no  large  timber.  Such  growths  were  swept  aside 


by  the  tomahawk  or  short-ax  with  hardly  a  pause  in  the 
slow  speed  of  the  party,  and  at  the  end  of  each  day’s  march 
the  road  they  had  followed  lay  open  behind  them.  There 
was  no  thought  in  Boone’s  mind  of  creating  a  route  which 
would  be  practicable  for  wagons,  for  no  such  things  were 
then  used  in  that  part  of  the  country.1  His  idea  was  to 
make  a  road  that  would  be  plain  for  the  use  of  horsemen, 

1  Though  wagons  of  a  certain  crude  type  had  appeared  in  near-by  localities  to  the  east 

137 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


footmen  and  drivers  of  live  stock,  even  though  the  travel¬ 
lers  upon  it  had  never  moved  through  the  wilderness  be¬ 
fore.  Carrying  out  the  leader’s  plan  as  it  went  forward 
the  party  finally  came  to  the  Holston  River  at  a  point 
where  a  large  island1  lay,  and  there  apparently  it  paused 
for  a  few  days.  During  the  first  two  weeks  Boone  had  pro¬ 
ceeded  through  a  country  more  or  less  familiar  to  all 
who  were  with  him,  for  it  had  often  been  traversed  bv 
hunting  parties  from  settlements  to  the  eastward.  No 
definite  path,  however,  had  ever  before  been  made 
through  it  by  white  men. 

While  encamped  on  the  Holston,  Boone  was  joined  by 
eight  other  frontiersmen  and  a  few  more  negroes.  Two 
of  the  new  white  recruits  were  Felix  Walker  and  Captain 
Twetty,2  and  in  his  later  reference  to  the  journey  Walker 
described  Boone  as  “our  pilot  and  conductor  through  the 
wilderness  to  the  promised  land.”  Thus  reinforced  the 
party  numbered  some  fifty  souls,  and  on  March  10th  they 
again  took  up  their  progress  through  the  woods,  marking 
the  trail  with  tomahawks  and  cutting  down  small  timber 
on  occasion.  Still  advancing  in  a  general  westwardly 
direction,  through  country  he  had  seen  on  at  least  four 
previous  trips,  Boone  and  his  men  crossed  the  Clinch  and 
Powell  Rivers  and  came  to  Cumberland  Gap,  through 
which  they  passed. 

Here  Boone’s  route  changed  abruptly  toward  the  north 
for  a  reason  relating  to  a  phase  of  early  white  travel 
already  discussed.  The  Cherokees  and  other  Indians 
of  the  South,  and  the  Miamis  and  various  native  nations 
who  lived  north  of  the  Ohio  had  for  centuries  made  inter¬ 
mittent  war  on  one  another,  and  in  times  of  peace  had  used 

1  Called  “Long  Island.” 

2  Twetty  was  killed  during  the  march  and  Walker  badly  wounded.  • 

138 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


the  land  of  “Kentucke”  as  a  neutral  hunting  ground.  In 
their  age-long  travel  back  and  forth  for  those  purposes 
the  red  men  had  made,  from  Cumberland  Gap  on  the 
south  to  a  point  on  the  Ohio  just  opposite  the  present 
Portsmouth,1  one  of  the  largest  and  most  frequented  In- 


37. — A  loaded  pack-mule.  The  animal’s  burden  was  conveyed  in  baskets  made 
of  woven  willow  or  bark.  Babies  were  also  carried  in  such  recep¬ 
tacles  during  journeys.  Sketch  by  Joshua  Shaw. 


dian  trails  on  the  continent.  From  the  time  of  its  first 
discovery  by  Caucasians  this  travel  route  of  the  Indians 
was  called  the  Warriors’  Path. 

Boone  turned  into  the  Warriors’  Path,  once  again  ap¬ 
propriating  an  Indian  trail  for  white  men’s  use.  He  did 

1  At  the  mouth  of  the  Scioto,  in  Ohio. 

139 


— _ _ _ U&U. . . . . . 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


more.  He  adopted  that  native  path  into  the  very  highway 
along  which  soon  swept  a  white  horde  to  overwhelm  the 
race  which  created  it.  Advancing  northward  on  the  In¬ 
dian  trace  Boone  followed  it  for  about  fifty  miles  through 
the  region  included  in  Knox  and  Clay  counties,  in  the 
present  state  of  Kentucky.  Near  where  the  town  of  Man¬ 
chester  stands  he  left  the  native  route  and  again  veered 
toward  the  west,  abandoning  the  red  man’s  trail  for  an 
equally  well-defined  street  made  by  the  bison.  This 
wilderness  avenue  he  used  through  the  present  Clay  and 
Laurel  counties  until  he  came  to  Rockcastle  River  and 
then,  still  keeping  on  the  bisons’  street,  he  turned  north¬ 
ward  once  more  and  passed  over  the  country  now  em¬ 
braced  in  Rockcastle  and  Madison  counties  until  he  came 
to  the  existing  location  of  Boonesborough  on  the  Ken¬ 
tucky  River.  There,  on  April  1st,  he  halted.  The  Indians 
had  attacked  his  column  twice,  killing  four  of  its  mem¬ 
bers  and  wounding  five  others,  but  the  work  he  had  set 
out  to  do  had  been  accomplished.1  From  the  verge  of 
the  settlements  in  the  East  to  the  center  of  the  unknown 
and  long-sought  land  of  “Kentucke”  he  had  blazed  a 
broad  trail  that  any  other  man  might  follow,  and  the  in¬ 
terior  American  wilderness  had  been  penetrated  for  the 
first  time  according  to  a  predetermined  plan  for  its  perma¬ 
nent  white  occupation.  The  work  had  not  been  one  of  un¬ 
usual  labor  or  hardship  to  the  men  who  had  performed  it, 
for  they  were  accustomed  to  such  effort  and  danger,  and 
Boone’s  adoption  of  existing  Indian  and  bison  routes  for  a 
considerable  part  of  the  distance  had  saved  much  time 
and  trouble.  But  the  significance  of  the  newly  created 
road  in  its  relation  to  economic  and  political  events  that 
were  soon  to  follow  was  great  indeed. 

1  The  road  was  at  first  known  as  “Boone’s  Trace.” 

140 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


A  log  fort  was  at  once  begun,1  and  on  April  1 5th 
Boone  sent  a  message  to  Judge  Henderson  telling  the 
Transylvania  Company  of  his  success.  In  it  he  said:  “My 
advice  to  you,  sir,  is  to  come  or  send  as  soon  as  possible. 
Your  company  is  desired  greatly,  for  the  people  are  very 
uneasy,  but  are  willing  to  stay  and  venture  their  lives 
with  you;  and  now  is  the  time  to  flusterate  their  [the 
Indians’]  intentions,  and  keep  the  country  whilst  we  are 
in  it.  If  we  give  way  to  them  now,  it  will  ever  be  ths  case.” 

Henderson  soon  arrived,  accompanied  by  nearly  forty 
more  men,  many  pack-horses  and  considerable  equipment 
necessary  for  frontier  life.2  The  reinforcement  so  de¬ 
lighted  Boone  that  he  hurried  back  to  the  Clinch  River 
for  his  family  and  other  settlers,  convinced  that  the  long 
awaited  time  for  a  general  advance  was  at  hand.  He  was 
right.  The  people  of  the  settlements  received  his  an¬ 
nouncement  of  conditions  in  the  “Kentucke”  region  with  a 
satisfaction  equal  to  his  own,  and  in  September  or  October 
he  started  westward  again  over  the  Wilderness  Road  that 
he  had  himself  created,  at  the  head  of  the  first  community 
caravan  which  was  to  make  the  march  in  uninterrupted 
security.  His  companions  were  twenty-six  men,  four 
women,  half  a  dozen  children  in  baskets  and  the  usual 
live  stock.  At  the  head  of  this  cavalcade,  identical  in  its 
picturesque  appearance  with  the  one  stopped  by  Indians 
on  a  previous  occasion,  he  travelled  safely  through  the 
forests,  and  at  last  the  voices  of  white  women,  the 
laughter  of  children,  the  melancholy  call  of  cattle  and  the 
squealing  of  pigs  were  heard  in  the  promised  land.  By 

1  The  fort  was  about  250  feet  long  by  150  feet  in  breadth.  At  each  corner  was  a 
house  about  20  feet  square  and  two  stories  high,  built  of  hewn  logs.  The  four 
houses  were  connected  by  a  continuous  stockade  of  pointed  timbers  planted  side  by  side. 
Along  the  interior  of  the  stockade  on  all  its  sides  were  rows  of  cabins  built  of  rough  logs. 
The  gates  were  thick  slabs  of  timber  hung  on  wooden  hinges.  The  fort  was  finished  on 
June  14th. 

2  He  had  started  with  a  few  wagons,  but  had  to  abandon  them  at  the  outset. 

141 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


the  end  of  the  year  several  hundred  people  were  estab¬ 
lished  at  Boonesborough,  Harrod’s  Town  and  other 
settlements  which  at  once  sprang  into  being. 

It  is  not  to  be  imagined  that  Boone’s  Trace  was  in  any 
respect  an  easy  road  to  travel,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
families  and  their  belongings  began  to  move  over  it  from 
the  first  days  of  its  existence.  It  was  easy  only  in  com¬ 
parison  with  the  untouched  and  unexplored  wilderness, 
through  which  one  man  alone  could  never  have  conveyed 
his  household  by  his  unaided  strength.  That  was  why 
so  many  people  had  to  march  together  on  the  Wilderness 
Road,  even  after  the  element  of  danger  from  Indians  had 
been  eliminated  from  the  journey.  By  proceeding  in  the 
old  community  method  the  mishap  of  one  individual 
could  be  remedied  by  all  the  rest,  and  only  in  that  way 
was  organized  travel  possible  over  it.  Fortunately  for 
a  modern  conception  of  the  difficulties  with  which  a  trip 
from  the  eastern  settlements  to  “Kentucke”  was  made  at 
the  period  in  question,  there  exists  an  original  diary  in 
which  the  journey  is  described.  It  was  written  by  William 
Calk,  of  Virginia,  who  started  from  Prince  William 
county  in  that  state  on  March  13,  1775,  and  reached 
Boone’s  fort  on  April  20th.  Calk  was  one  of  those  who 
went  westward  with  Judge  Henderson.  No  better  way 
can  be  found  of  describing  the  travel  conditions  that  then 
prevailed  throughout  the  country  —  except  on  the  few 
established  highways  of  the  Atlantic  seaboard  —  than  by 
quoting  from  Calk’s  record.1  Some  of  his  experiences 
were  set  down  in  the  following  manner: 

1775,  Mon.  13th  —  I  set  out  from  prince  wm.  to  travel  to  Cam- 
tuck  on  tuesday  Night  our  company  all  got  together  at  Mr.  Priges  on 

1  Calk’s  original  diary  is  still  in  possession  of  his  Kentucky  descendants.  It  was  in¬ 
corporated  by  Thomas  Speed  in  his  monograph  on  the  Wilderness  Road,  published  by  the 
Filson  Club,  from  which  the  extracts  here  quoted  are  taken. 

142 


38.— Backwoodsman  putting  his  wife  on  a  pack-horse  in  preparation  for  a  journey.  Sketch  by  Joshua  Shaw 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


rapadon  which  was  Abraham  hanks  philip  Drake  Eanock  Smith  Robert 
Whitledge  and  my  Self  thear  Abrams  Dogs  leg  got  broke  by  Drakes  Deg. 

Wednesday,  15th, — We  started  early  from  priges  made  a  good  Days 
travel  and  lodge  this  night  at  Mr.  Cars  on  North  fork  James  River. 

Thursday,  16th — We  started  early  it  rained  Chief  part  of  the  day 
Snowed  in  the  Eavening  very  hard  and  was  very  Coaid  we  traveled  all 
day  and  got  to  Mr.  Blocks  at  the  foot  of  the  Blue  Ridge. 

Friday  17th — We  started  early  cross  the  Ridge  the  wind  Blowsz 
very  hard  and  cold  and  lodge  at  James  lovls. 

Monday  20th  —  We  start  early  cross  the  ferry  and  lodge  this  night 
at  Wm.  Adamses  on  the  head  of  Catauby. 

Wedns  22nd  — We  start  early  and  git  to  foart  Chissel  whear  we 
git  some  good  loaf  Bread  and  good  whiskey. 

fryday  24th — we  start  early  and  turn  out  of  the  wagon  Road  to  go 
across  the  mountains  to  go  by  Danil  Smiths  we  loose  Driver  Come  to  a 
turable  mountain  that  tired  us  all  almost  to  death  to  git  over  it  and 
we  lodge  this  night  on  the  Lawrel  fork  of  holston  under  a  granite 
mountain  and  Roast  a  fine  fat  turkey  for  our  suppers  and  Eat  it  without 
aney  Bread. 

Satrd  25th — We  start  early  over  Some  more  very  Bad  mountains 
one  that  is  called  Clinch  mountain  and  we  git  this  night  to  Danil 
Smiths  on  Clinch  and  there  we  staid  till  thursday  morning  on  tuesday 
night  and  Wednesday  morning  it  snowed  Very  hard  and  was  very  Coaid 
and  we  hunted  a  good  deal  there  while  we  staid  in  Rough  mountains  and 
kild  three  deer  and  one  turkey  Eanock  Abram  and  I  got  lost  tuesday 
night  and  it  a  snowing  and  Should  a  lain  in  the  mountains  had  not  I  a 
had  a  pocket  compas  by  which  I  got  in  a  littel  in  the  night  and  fired 
guns  and  they  heard  them  and  cairn  in  By  the  Repoart. 

thusd  30th  —  We  set  out  again  and  went  down  to  Elk  gardin  and 
there  suplid  our  Selves  With  Seed  Corn  and  irish  tators  then  we  went 
on  a  littel  way  I  turned  my  hors  to  drive  before  me  and  he  got  scard 
ran  away  threw  Down  the  Saddel  Bags  and  broke  three  of  our  powder 
goards  and  Abrams  beast  Burst  open  a  walet  of  corn  and  lost  a  good 
Deal  and  made  a  turrabel  flustration  amongst  the  Reast  of  the  Horses 
Drakes  mair  run  against  a  sapling  and  noct  it  down  we  cacht  them  all 
again  and  went  on  and  lodged  at  John  Duncans. 

fryd  31st  —  We  suplyed  our  Selves  at  Dunkans  with  a  103  pounds 
of  Bacon  and  went  on  again  to  Brileys  mill  and  suployed  our  Selves  with 
meal1  and  lodged  this  night  on  Clinch  By  a  large  cainbraike  and  cuckt 
our  Supper. 

April  Saturday  1st — This  morning  there  is  ice  at  our  camp  half  inch 
thick  we  start  early  and  travel  this  Day  along  a  verev  Bad  hilley  way 
cross  one  creek  whear  the  horses  almost  got  mired  some  fell  in  and  all  wet 


1  In  the  Clinch  River  valley.  The  travellers’  last  chance  to  supply  themselves  with  pro¬ 
visions  other  than  game. 

144 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


their  loads  we  cross  Clinch  River  and  travell  till  late  in  the  Night  and 
camp  on  Cove  Creek  having  two  men  with  us  that  wair  pilates.1 

mond  3rd  —  We  start  early  travel  Down  the  valey  cross  powels 
river  go  some  through  the  woods  without  aney  track2  cross  some  Bad 
hills  git  in  to  hendersons  Road3  camp  on  a  creek  in  powels  valey. 

Tuesday  4th  —  Raney  we  Start  about  10  oclock  and  git  down  to 
Capt.  martins  in  the  valey  where  we  over  take  Col.  henderson  and  his 
Company  Bound  for  Caintuck  and  there  we  camp  this  Night  there  they 
were  Broiling  and  Eating  Beef  without  Bread. 

Wednesday  5th  —  Breaks  away  fair  and  we  go  down  the  valey  and 
camp  on  indian  Creek  we  had  this  creek  to  cross  maney  times  and  very 
bad  banks  Abrams  saddel  turned  and  the  load  all  fell  in  we  got  out  this 
Eavening  and  kill  two  Deer. 

thursd  6th  —  this  morning  is  a  hard  frost  and  we  wait  at  Camp  for 
Col.  henderson  and  company  to  come  up  they  come  up  about  12  oclock 
and  we  goin  with  them  and  camp  there  still  this  night  waiting  for  some 
part  of  the  company  that  had  their  horses  ran  away  with  their  packs. 

fryday  7th  —  this  morning  is  a  very  bad  snowey  morning  we  still 
continue  at  Camp  being  in  number  about  40  men  and  some  neagros  this 
Eaven.  Comes  a  letter  from  Capt.  Boone4  at  caintuck  of  the  indians 
doing  mischief  and  some  turns  back. 

Saturday  8th  —  We  all  pack  up  and  started  crost  Cumberland  gap 
about  one  oclock  this  Day  Met  a  good  many  peopel  turned  back  for 
fear  of  the  indians  but  our  Company  goes  on  Still  with  good  courage  we 
came  to  a  very  ugly  Creek  with  steep  Banks  and  have  to  cross  it  several 
times  on  this  Creek  we  camp  this  night. 

tuesday  nth  —  this  is  a  very  loury  morning  and  like  for  Rain  but 
we  all  agree  to  start  Early  and  we  cross  Cumberland  River  and  travel 
Down  it  about  10  miles  through  some  turrabel  cainbrakes  as  we  went 
down  Abrams  mair  Ran  into  the  River  with  her  load  and  swam  over 
he  followed  her  and  got  on  her  and  made  her  swim  back  agin  it  is  a 
very  raney  Eavening  we  take  up  camp  near  Richland  Creek  they  kill  a 
beef  Mr.  Drake  Bakes  Bread  without  washing  his  hands  we  Keep 
Sentry  this  Night  for  fear  of  the  indians. 

Wednesday  12th  —  this  is  a  Raney  morning  But  we  pack  up  and  go 
on  we  come  to  Richland  Creek  it  is  high  we  tote  our  packs  over  on  a 
tree  and  swim  our  horses  over  and  there  we  meet  another  Companey 
going  Back5  they  tell  such  News  abram  and  Drake  is  afraid  to  go  aney 
farther  there  we  camp  this  night. 

thursday  13th  —  this  morning  the  weather  seems  to  brake  and  Be 

1  Evidently  none  of  the  party  had  ever  penetrated  so  far  to  the  westward.  _ 

2  In  coming  down  from  Virginia  Calk  did  not  hit  on  Boone’s  new  route  until  the  day 
this  extract  was  written. 

3  Meaning  the  road  Boone  had  just  blazed  for  the  Transylvania  Company. 

4  This  letter  was  sent  by  Boone  before  the  one  already  quoted. 

6  Those  who  were  returning  to  civilization  were  small  parties  made  up  of  men  alone. 
The  movement  of  entire  families  in  caravans  did  not  begin  until  the  autumn  of  the  year. 

145 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


fair  Abram  and  Drake  turn  Back1  we  go  on  and  git  to  loral  River 
we  come  to  a  creek  Before  wheare  we  are  able  to  unload  and  to  take  our 
packs  over  on  a  log  this  day  we  meet  about  20  more  turning  Back  we 
are  obliged  to  toat  our  packs  over  loral  river  and  swim  our  horses  one  hors 
ran  in  with  his  pack  and  lost  it  in  the  river  and  they  got  it  agin. 

Sunday  16th  —  cloudy  and  warm  we  start  early  and  go  on  about  2 
miles  down  the  river  and  then  turn  up  a  creek  that  we  crost  about  50 
times  some  very  bad  foards  with  a  great  Deal  of  very  good  land  on  it 
in  the  Eavening  we  git  over  to  the  waters  of  Caintuck  and  go  a  little 
down  the  creek  and  there  we  camp  keep  sentel  the  fore  part  of  the 
night  it  Rains  very  har  all  night. 

tuesday  1 8th  —  fair  and  cool  and  we  go  on  about  10  oclock  we  meet 
4  men  from  Boones  camp  that  cairn  to  conduck  us  on  we  camp  this  night 
just  on  the  Beginning  of  the  good  land  near  the  Blue  lick  they  kill  2 
bofelos  this  Eavening. 

thursday  20th  —  this  morning  is  clear  and  cool.  We  start  early  and 
git  Down  to  caintuck  to  Boons  foart  about  12  o’clock  where  we  stop 
they  come  out  to  meet  us  and  welcome  us  in  with  a  voley  of  guns. 

fryday  21st  —  warm  this  Day  they  begin  laying  off  lots  in  the  town 
preparing  for  people  to  go  to  work  to  make  corn. 

Sunday  23rd  —  this  morning  the  peopel  meets  and  draws  for  chois 
of  lots  this  is  a  very  warm  day. 

monday  24th  —  We  all  view  our  lots  and  some  Dont  like  them 
about  12  oclock  the  combses  come  to  town  and  Next  morning  they  make 
them  a  bark  canew  and  set  off  down  the  river  to  meet  their  Companey. 

Wednesday  26th  —  We  Begin  Building  us  a  house  and  a  plaise  of 
Defense  to  Keep  the  indians  off  this  day  we  begin  to  live  without  bread. 

Satterday  29th  —  We  git  our  house  kivered  with  Bark  and  move 
our  things  into  it  at  Night  and  Begin  housekeeping  Eanock  Smith  Rob¬ 
ert  Whitledge  and  myself. 

So  ends  the  journal  of  William  Calk.  He  and  those 
others  of  whom  he  tells  wrote  chiefly  in  deeds,  not  lan¬ 
guage;  with  rifle  and  ax  instead  of  pen  and  ink.  By  the 
light  of  camp-fires  at  night  he  traced  a  few  words,  but 
with  his  footsteps  he  traced  the  Path  through  the  wilder¬ 
ness.  To  him  more  than  to  any  other  one  man  who  made 
the  journey  over  Boone’s  Road  are  later  generations  in¬ 
debted  for  a  picture  of  the  conditions  that  accompanied 
the  commencement  of  westward  travel  in  America. 
Calk’s  narrative  is  short  and  fragmentary,  but  it  tells  more 

1  After  all  the  trouble  Abram  had  had  with  his  “mair,”  and  had  overcome,  it  seems  a 
pity  to  find  that  he  gave  up  before  reaching  the  goal. 

146 


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■  .SO* 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


than  is  actually  set  down.  His  diary  not  only  suggests  the 
toil  and  exhaustion  of  the  marches  and  the  physical  dif- 
culties  along  the  trail,  but  the  mental  attitude  of  the 
pioneers  as  well.  It  displays  the  brave  man,  the  weakling 
and  the  coward;  it  reveals  the  philosophy  with  which 
those  men  met  and  surmounted  hardship,  and  their  rare 
moments  of  dejection.  Only  once  —  when  he  alludes  to 
a  creek  which  he  “crost  about  50  times”  —  does 
Calk  display  any  sign  of  impatience,  and  on  that  occa¬ 
sion  the  irritation  was  doubtless  due  to  the  persistence 
of  a  comparatively  petty  obstacle  rather  than  to  the  neces¬ 
sity  for  severe  exertion.  It  was  as  though  a  mosquito 
bothered  him  and  could  not  be  got  rid  of.  And  the 
matter-of-fact  way  in  which  he  refers  to  the  coming  of 
a  new  party  to  Boone’s  fort,  its  prompt  departure  in  a  bark 
canoe  made  by  its  own  members,  the  meeting  of  the  pio¬ 
neers  in  popular  assembly,  their  drawing  for  town  lots,  the 
building  of  cabins,  preparations  for  planting  and  the  prac¬ 
tically  instantaneous  transformation  of  the  travellers  into 
a  community  of  methodical  habits  and  set  purpose,  unin¬ 
tentionally  portrays  the  character,  resourcefulness  and 
adaptability  of  the  people  in  a  manner  more  valuable  than 
volumes  of  theorizing  could  do  it.  That  is  why  a  few  words 
like  his,  handed  down  from  an  earlier  century  by  a  man 
who  has  lived  what  he  tells,  are  so  esteemed  in  present 
days.  Nothing  is  asked  but  that  the  spirit  of  a  vanished 
time  shall  still  live  in  the  things  he  describes.  The  man 

who  helps  to  make  an  empire  may  spell  as  he  chooses.1 

% 

1  Contemporary  drawings  made  by  men  who  themselves  beheld  the  conditions  of  travel 
during  the  generation  in  which  the  West  was  first  invaded  are  even  more  unusual  than 
manuscript  descriptions  of  the  same  scenes.  The  sketches  of  the  sort  included  in 
these  pages  were  recently  found,  and  are  the  work  of  the  early  American  artist  Joshua 
Shaw.  Certain  details  in  them  —  aside  from  the  period  covered  by  Shaw’s  life  —  indicate 
that  the  drawings  were  made  after  the  year  1800.  In  all  essential  features  they  reveal  the 

fteople  as  they  appeared  during  their  journeys  in  the  period  between  1775  and  1825.  The 
ines  of  the  artist’s  pencil  show  that  he  was  making  his  sketches  from  knowledge  gained 
by  his  own  eyes. 


148 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


Notwithstanding  British  and  Indian  hostilities,  the 
Kentucky  settlers,  reinforced  from  time  to  time  by  new 
accessions,  not  only  managed  to  hold  their  own  but  even 
to  undertake  aggressive  measures  against  their  enemies. 
In  1778-79  George  Rogers  Clark  and  his  buckskin-clad 
warriors  conquered  the  Illinois  country.  Their  marches 
on  that  memorable  expedition,  particularly  the  one  from 
Kaskaskia  to  Vincennes  in  midwinter  across  the  flooded 
bottom  lands  of  the  Wabash,  are  among  the  most  notable 
achievements  in  western  history,  but  they  are  too  well 
known  to  need  description  here.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that 
American  domination  in  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  the 
region  northwest  of  the  Ohio  was  a  direct  result  of  the 
westward  movement  over  the  Wilderness  Road. 

Having  followed  the  first  cabin  dwellers  on  their  jour¬ 
ney  to  Kentucky,  it  now  remains  to  consider  what  they 
did  when  they  got  there.  For  this  purpose  the  reference 
made  by  Calk  to  the  assemblage  of  the  immigrants  in  pub¬ 
lic  meeting  furnishes  a  starting  point.  It  was  believed 
by  the  pioneer  arrivals  at  Boone’s  Fort  and  elsewhere 
that  the  Transylvania  Company  was  founding  a  prac¬ 
tically  independent  self-governing  community.  Sepa¬ 
rated  as  they  were  from  all  organized  governmental 
processes  by  hundreds  of  miles  of  unoccupied  wilderness 
the  early  white  people  of  Kentucky  were  subject  to  no 
control  except  that  of  their  own  choosing,  and  the  con¬ 
ditions  which  confronted  them  at  once  showed  the  neces¬ 
sity  of  joint  action  in  regulating  their  affairs.  The  most 
important  problem  was  that  of  insuring  a  supply  of  food 
sufficient  to  maintain  them  until  a  crop  could  be  planted 
and  harvested.  When  the  first  parties  arrived  they  were 
almost  wholly  dependent  on  the  country  for  sustenance, 
but  fortunately  found  a  seemingly  inexhaustible  abundance 

149 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


of  game.  The  bison,  deer,  bear  and  wild  turkey  existed  in 
the  forests  and  canebrakes  in  such  astonishing  numbers 
that  the  woodsmen,  experienced  as  they  were,  had  no 
thought  that  the  animal  life  about  them  would  disappear. 
Yet  within  six  weeks  all  the  edible  beasts  and  birds  were 
gone  and  the  settlements  had  to  send  hunting  parties 
twenty  miles  into  the  woods  in  order  to  secure  food.  No 
sooner  was  the  significance  of  this  condition  realized  than 
the  colonists  formulated  laws  which  protected  the  game 
except  for  food  purposes,  and  “foreigners  who  came  to 
hunt”  were  warned  that  their  visits  and  activities  were 
not  wanted  in  that  region.  So  the  white  men,  as  soon 
as  they  secured  the  country,  adopted  the  policy  of  the 
Indians  and  by  so  doing  justified  the  course  previously 
pursued  by  the  red  men  when  they,  as  proprietors  of  the 
land,  had  similarly  objected  to  the  presence  of  alien 
people. 

The  belief  of  the  settlers  regarding  the  future  of 
Henderson’s  project  was  soon  altered.  Both  Virginia  and 
North  Carolina  declared  that  the  Transylvania  Com¬ 
pany’s  purchase  of  territory  was  void,  and  Virginia  exer¬ 
cised  proprietorship  over  the  region  until  after  the  adop¬ 
tion  of  the  Constitution. 


CHAPTER  X 


THE  NATIONAL  TRANSPORTATION  SYSTEM  FROM  1775  TO 
1800  —  EXTENSION  AND  USE  OF  WILDERNESS  ROADS 
—  A  JUNCTION  POINT  IN  THE  FOREST  —  THE  TRAVEL 
ROUTE  INTO  TENNESSEE  —  RELATIONSHIP  BETWEEN 
FOREST  TRAILS  AND  RIVERS  —  EARLY  EFFORTS  TO  IM¬ 
PROVE  THE  PATHS  —  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  MOVEMENTS 
OVER  THEM  —  PLACE  OF  WOMEN  IN  PIONEER  LIFE 
AND  WORK  —  A  CHART  OF  WESTWARD  MARCHES 

SEVERAL  thousand  people  marched  over  the  Wil¬ 
derness  Road  each  year  during  the  Revolution  pe¬ 
riod,1  nearly  all  of  them  starting  from  North  Carolina 
and  Virginia.  On  arriving  in  Kentucky  every  new  fam¬ 
ily  took  up  land,  was  presented  with  a  log  cabin  by  its 
neighbors,  cleared  some  ground  and  planted  corn.  In 
the  early  years  of  the  revolt  against  England  the  Ken¬ 
tucky  settlements  were  often  attacked  by  hostile  red  men, 
but  without  permanent  effect.  Twice  the  whites  were  de¬ 
feated  with  a  loss  of  about  sixty  killed,  but  the  tide  of 
white  travel  through  the  woods  rose  in  such  ever- 
increasing  volume  that  temporary  reverses  were  soon  for¬ 
gotten.  The  pioneers  never  brooded  over  their  dead.  All 
the  attention  and  strength  they  could  give  were  demanded 
by  those  who  still  lived, 

1  Entire  church  congregations  made  the  journey  in  a  body,  and  on  several  occasions 
such  a  pilgrimage  was  led  by  the  pastor,  just  as  Hooker  had  conducted  his  people  through 
the  forests  of  Massachusetts  long  before.  One  of  the  religious  organizations  that  travelled 
to  Kentucky  was  the  Baptist  Church  of  Spottsylvania,  Virginia,  under  the  guidance  of 
Paster  Lewis  Craig.  It  proceeded  across  the  country  not  only  as  a  caravan  of  travellers 
but  as  an  organized  moving  church. 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


The  year  1784  found  about  thirty  thousand  people  in 
the  Kentucky  region,  and  the  immigration  of  that  summer 
amounted  to  some  twelve  thousand  men,  women  and  chil¬ 
dren.1  The  overland  movement  still  maintained  a  caravan 
character.  By  its  increased  use  the  Wilderness  Road  was 
being  robbed  of  many  of  its  difficulties,  and  to  the  one 
original  path  had  been  added  various  extensions  and  ram¬ 
ifications.  A  reference  to  the  accompanying  map  will 
disclose  with  approximate  completeness  the  several  routes 
that  at  various  times,  and  from  different  eastern  localities, 
were  used  to  reach  the  interior  of  the  country.  The  rela¬ 
tionship  which  these  different  roads  bore  to  the  general 
westward  advance  can  be  discussed  with  propriety  at  this 
point,  though  not  all  of  them  had  become  important  high¬ 
ways  of  travel  at  quite  so  early  a  date  as  we  have  reached. 

The  origin  and  direction  of  Boone’s  Trace  have  al¬ 
ready  been  given,  and  its  course  through  the  territory  em¬ 
braced  in  the  map  can  be  easily  followed.  Boone’s  actual 
work  in  marking  the  first  road  began  at  a  point  some  dis¬ 
tance  to  the  northeast  of  Fort  Chissel,  and  then  proceeded 
to  the  Warriors’  Path,  as  indicated.  Within  a  few  years 
the  preferred  route  had  veered  from  the  Warriors’  Path 
somewhat  to  the  south  of  the  point  where  Boone  forsook 
that  highway,  and  assumed  a  rather  more  direct  line  to¬ 
ward  Boonesborough.  The  eastward  end  of  the  original 
trace  marked  by  Boone  was  easily  reached  over  rough 
roads,  previously  made,  that  extended  westwardly  from 
Richmond  and  eastern  Virginia. 

A  route  extending  southwest  through  the  valley 
between  the  Blue  Ridge  and  Alleghany  ranges  was  the 
one  followed  for  a  part  of  its  way  by  Calk.  He  crossed 

1  Perkins’  “Western  Annals.”  Only  apnroximate  estimates  can,  of  course,  be  given.  It 
is  certain  that  1784  saw  a  great  influx,  and  it  has  even  been  estimated  that  30,000  souls 
went  to  Kentucky  in  that  year. 


152 


to 


Catskill  Road  and  west¬ 
ward  extension  to  Dela¬ 
ware  and  Susquehanna 
Rivers. 

Road  across  New  Jersey. 
Road  from  Philadelphia  to 
Fort  Pitt. 

4.  Road  from  Baltimore 
Redstone. 

5.  The  Great  Road  from  Yad¬ 
kin  River  to  Philadelphia 
(435  miles). 

6.  Boone’s  Wilderness  Road. 

7.  The  Warriors'  Path. 

8.  The  Bison  Street. 

9.  The  Tennessee  Path. 

to.  Cumberland  River  Trail. 

11.  Road  from  Kentucky  to 
St.  Louis. 

12.  Berry  Trace. 

13.  Whetzel  Trace. 

14.  Northward  extension 
Warriors’  Path. 

15.  Kellogg’s  Trail. 

16.  Boone’s  Lick  Road. 

17.  Government  Road,  by  con- 
s  e  n  t  of  Choctaws  and 
Chickasaws. 

18.  General  Jackson’s  Road. 

19.  The  Unicoy  Road. 

20.  Traders’  Path  to  Chero- 
kees. 

N.  T.  Indicates  Native  Trail. 


of 


i  ravel  and  Transportation  System  of  the  Pioneers  through  the  Wilderness  between  the  Atlantic  Coast  and  Missouri 


SOURCES  OF 
THE  FOREGOING  MAP 

Thomas  Jeffery’s  “Map  of  the  Most  In¬ 
habited  Part  of  Virginia  .  .  .  with  part 
of  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  and 
North  Carolina:  1751.” 

Thomas  Hutchins’  “New  Map  of  the 
Western  Parts  of  Virginia,  Pensil- 
vania,  Maryland  and  North  Carolina; 
1751.” 

Thomas  Hutchins’  “New  Map  of  the  West¬ 
ern  Parts  of  Virginia,  Pennsylvania, 
Maryland  and  North  Carolina,  etc.: 
1778.” 

J.  Russell’s  “Map  of  the  State  of  Ken¬ 
tucky;  with  the  adjoining  Territo¬ 
ries:  1794.” 

Cyrus  Harris’  “Map  of  the  State  of  Ken¬ 
tucky  and  the  Tennessee  Government: 
1796.”  (Engraved  by  Doolittle.) 

Gen’l  D.  Smith’s  “Map  of  the  Tennessee 
Government  formerly  Part  of  North 
Carolina:  1796.” 

Arrowsmith’s  “Map  of  the  United  States 
of  North  America:  1796.” 

Tardieu’s  “Carte  des  Etats-Unis  de 
L’Amerique  Septentrionale :  1808.” 

H.  S.  Tanner’s  “Ohio  and  Indiana:  1819.” 

John  Melish’s  “Map  of  the  United  States: 
1820.” 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


over  the  Blue  Ridge  and  reached  Fort  Chissel  in  nine 
days  from  the  time  his  party  started.  Twelve  days  after 
leaving  the  fort  he  touched  Boone’s  newly  made  path  at 
the  point  where  he  joined  Henderson’s  party,  and  contin¬ 
ued  on  it  thereafter.  In  following  years  a  well-defined 
pack-horse  road  through  the  forests  led  all  the  way  up 
through  the  valley  to  the  southern  boundary  of  Pennsyl¬ 
vania,  where  it  swung  to  the  eastward  and  finally  reached 
Philadelphia.  Over  this,  the  longest  of  all  land  routes  to 
the  interior,  came  at  a  later  time  thousands  of  travellers 
from  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey  and  Virginia. 
The  distance  from  Philadelphia  to  Vincennes  along  this 
line  of  march  was  about  eight  hundred  miles. 

It  will  be  seen  that  Fort  Chissel1  was  an  important 
junction  point  on  all  distinctively  land  paths  made 
through  the  wilderness  by  white  men.  For  many  years 
all  overland  travellers,  from  whatever  eastern  community 
they  came  or  wherever  they  were  destined,  converged  at 
the  little  timber  blockhouse  for  a  brief  pause  before  tak¬ 
ing  the  plunge  into  far  wilder  regions  beyond.  East  of 
that  point  the  difficulty  of  westward  progress,  as  well  as 
the  danger  that  attended  it,  was  less  in  a  marked  degree 
than  that  encountered  after  it  had  been  left  behind.  When 
at  last  the  west-bound  travel  had  grown  to  such  propor¬ 
tions  that  parties  passed  along  the  various  roads  in  almost 
continuous  procession,  the  immediate  neighborhood  about 
the  fort  resembled  the  only  port  on  a  forbidding  coast. 
Half  a  dozen  caravans  sometimes  halted  there  in  the 
course  of  a  day,  and  the  accumulation  at  one  spot  of  hun¬ 
dreds  of  human  pilgrims  and  more  hundreds  of  horses, 
pigs,  cows  and  dogs,  all  in  the  confusion  of  pitching  camp 

1  The  fort  was  a  small  blockhouse  of  the  usual  type  built  by  the  British  in  1758,  and 
intended  as  a  protection  against  the  Cherokees.  At  the  time  it  was  the  extreme  western 
outpost,  though  about  200  miles  east  of  Cumberland  Gap. 

153 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


40. — Cumberland  Gap,  the  gateway  through  the  Alleghanies  used  during  the 
overland  migrations  attending  the  first  white  invasion 

of  the  interior. 

or  of  preparing  for  a  fresh  march,  filled  the  forest  with  an 
uproar.  Often  there  were  a  few  Indians  about,  peaceable 
enough  for  the  time  being,  and  crouched  somewhere  on 
the  outskirts  of  the  brush  to  watch  in  silence  the  visible 
dissolution  of  their  ancient  heritage.  They  were  no 
longer  animated  by  a  hope  that  the  white  flood  could  be 
turned  back  by  any  effort  they  could  make. 

A  short  distance  to  the  southwest  of  Fort  Chissel  —  as 
will  be  seen  by  a  glance  at  the  map  —  the  early  road  into 
the  wilderness  became  divided,  and  one  part  of  it  ex¬ 
tended  through  northern  Tennessee.  The  various  Ken¬ 
tucky  branches  of  the  route  merit  prior  examination. 
That  part  of  the  northernmost  path  extending  to  Boones- 
borough  has  been  explained.  The  much  longer  trace, 
leading  first  to  Crab  Orchard,  thence  on  through  the 

154 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


forest  toward  the  present  site  of  Louisville  and  across 
southern  Indiana  to  Fort  St.  Vincent,  soon  came  to  be  an 
even  more  important  highway  than  the  one  over  which 
Boone  piloted  his  first  party.  Its  creation  was  due  to  sev¬ 
eral  causes,  and  covered  a  considerable  period  of  time. 
The  commencement  of  the  trail  in  question  came  about  in 
the  following  manner. 

With  Henderson’s  party  of  1775  there  travelled  a  cer¬ 
tain  Benjamin  Logan,  who  had  joined  the  head  of  the 
Transylvania  Company  on  the  Powell  River.  He  and  his 
small  group  of  companions  went  along  with  Henderson 
until  they  all  came  to  the  Rockcastle  region  of  Kentucky 
on  the  bison  street,  and  there  a  dispute  arose  between  the 
two  men.  As  a  result  of  the  altercation  Logan  and  a  few 
others  left  Henderson  and  Boone’s  Trace  near  the  Rock- 
castle  hills  and  diverged  to  the  westward  along  an  Indian 
trail  which  Boone  had  followed  when  he  journeyed  to  the 
Falls  of  the  Ohio,  at  Dunmore’s  request,  to  bring  back  the 
surveyors.  Logan  kept  on  the  trail  thus  selected  until  he 
reached  a  good  country,  and  there  established  a  station 
called  Logan’s  Fort.1  Other  and  later  parties  sometimes 
followed  Logan’s  example;  more  little  settlements  sprang 
up  along  the  route  chosen  by  him,  and  so  the  road  was 
pushed  slowly  toward  the  Ohio  River.  As  boat  travel 
increased  on  the  Ohio  the  so-called  falls,  or  rapids,  which 
exist  in  that  stream  at  Louisville  became  the  natural  stop¬ 
ping  place  of  down-stream  expeditions  bound  for  the  Ken¬ 
tucky  region.  There  the  boats  were  abandoned  and  the 
pioneers  started  inland  toward  the  settlements  established 
by  Boone,  Harrod,  Logan  and  the  rest.  By  the  combined 


1  On  one  occasion,  during  the  Revolution,  Logan  left  his  fort  and  companions  in  an 
effort  to  secure  ammunition  from  settlements  two  hundred  miles  or  more  to  the  eastward. 
He  got  to  the  Holston  River  and  back  in  ten  days.  This  was  one  of  the  swiftest  pro¬ 
longed  journeys  ever  made  by  a  white  man  through  the  primeval  American  wilderness. 

155 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


effect  of  those  two  movements  a  well-defined  white  man’s 
path  extending  through  the  forest  to  the  Ohio  was  created 
at  an  early  day,  and  as  time  went  on  a  still  farther  west¬ 
ward  advance  of  the  settlers  prolonged  the  thor¬ 
oughfare  to  Fort  St.  Vincent  and  St.  Louis.  The  original 
Warriors’  Path  soon  lost  its  native  character  and  became 
a  white  man’s  road  over  which  many  immigrants  passed 
northward  through  eastern  Kentucky.  A  few  of  those 
who  came  down  the  Ohio  also  disembarked  at  the  river 
end  of  the  big  Indian  trail  and  marched  south  upon  it 
to  their  destinations. 

The  road  into  Tennessee,  as  it  appears  on  the  map,  was 
not  the  first  route  by  which  permanent  white  settlers  pene¬ 
trated  into  that  district.  In  the  very  earliest  years  of  the 
invasion  the  Tennessee  people  followed  Boone’s  Trace  to 
the  point  of  Logan’s  divergence,  then  continued  on 
Logan’s  path  for  a  short  distance  and  finally,  leaving  it 
also,  swung  through  the  woods  until  they  came  to  a  trail 
which  followed  in  a  general  way  the  course  of  the  Cum¬ 
berland  River.  Then  they  kept  on  along  the  Cumberland 
until  they  found  a  locality  that  pleased  them,  and  struck 
south  into  the  present  Tennessee.  Many  went  in  this 
manner  as  far  as  the  site  of  Nashville. 

But  by  the  year  17831  anew  and  better  method  of  getting 
into  northern  and  middle  Tennessee  had  been  found,  and 
this  later  route  is  shown  on  the  map  here  given.  Travel¬ 
lers  to  the  Tennessee  region  followed  existing  roads  from 
the  East  until  well  past  Fort  Chissel.  There  they  left  the 
old  trail  that  led  to  Kentucky,  and  at  the  southern  ex¬ 
tremity  of  the  Clinch  range  —  or  Clinch  Mountain,  as  it 
was  then  called  —  proceeded  in  a  line  almost  due  west, 
through  the  country  now  included  in  Roane,  Fentress, 

1  Speed’s  “Wilderness  Road,”  pp.  63-4. 

156 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


White,  Jackson,  Smith,  Wilson,  Sumner  and  Davidson 
counties  until  the  site  of  Nashville  was  reached.  Later 
this  road  was  extended  still  farther  west.  The  Tennessee 
path  was  a  very  popular  line  of  march  and  was  not  only 
used  by  the  future  Tennesseeans,  but  by  many  who  in¬ 
tended  to  take  up  land  in  southern  Kentucky.  Those  on 
the  road  who  were  making  for  the  Kentucky  settlements 
left  the  Tennessee  trail  near  the  present  Gallatin,1  crossed 
the  Cumberland  River  and  turned  north.  In  that  fashion 
much  of  southern  Kentucky  received  its  first  white  popu¬ 
lation. 

The  Tennessee  path  lay  through  a  territory  less  rough 
than  that  traversed  by  the  original  Wilderness  Road,  and 
became  possible  for  wagon  use  within  a  short  time  after 
its  adoption.  It  remained  a  great  overland  highway  be¬ 
tween  the  eastern  seacoast  and  the  interior  until  the  intro¬ 
duction  of  steamboats  on  the  western  rivers  destroyed  its 
usefulness  as  a  through  line  of  travel.  During  its  early 
years  of  importance  the  Cherokees,  from  their  nearby 
mountain  homes,  gazed  with  resentment  at  the  human 
traffic  that  moved  back  and  forth  upon  it,  but  no  longer 
fell  with  swift  fury  on  the  travellers  to  destroy  them.2  It 
was  of  this  road  that  Senator  Mason  of  Virginia  spoke  in 
the  national  Senate  in  1802  when  describing  the  western 
country  and  its  travel  facilities.  “The  pilgrim  into  those 
regions,”  said  the  Senator,  “will  have  to  pass  through  the 
country  of  the  Cherokee  Indian,  nearly  one  hundred  miles 
over  the  Cumberland  Mountains,  where  he  will  be  ex¬ 
posed  to  every  inclemency  of  the  weather  without  a  shelter 
to  retire  to,  for  there  is  not  a  house  nor  a  hut  in  the  whole 
journey;  a  journey  in  which  all  travellers  are  obliged  at 


1  In  Sumner  county,  Tennessee. 

2  Although  the  worst  element  of  the  red  nation  did  often  rob  white  wayfarers. 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


all  times  and  of  unavoidable  necessity  to  sleep  one  night 
at  least,  and  from  the  fall  of  rains  and  rise  of  water¬ 
courses  often  many  nights,  without  a  roof  to  cover  them 
from  the  beating  of  the  storm,  and  moreover  where  they 


41. — Overland  travellers  pausing  at  the  top  of  a  hill  during  their  march  through 

the  wilderness. 


are  liable  at  every  stop  to  be  robbed  by  the  Indians,  as 
I  myself  experienced  passing  through  that  wilderness.” 

One  further  glance  at  the  map  will  reveal  the  relation¬ 
ship  between  the  land  and  water  routes  that  led  into  the 
West.  The  earliest  stages  of  the  invasion  of  the  interior 
were  characterized  by  mass  movements  of  the  population 
overland,  for  in  spite  of  the  difficulties  of  such  a  journey 
it  was  preferred  to  the  greater  dangers  which  for  a  time 

158 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


attended  a  trip  down  the  Ohio.1  The  slow  moving  flat- 
boats  by  means  of  which  family  or  community  migrations 
took  place  were  so  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  the  current,  so 
exposed  to  wreck  or  so  open  to  attack  from  Indians 
along  the  shores  and  in  swift  canoes,  that  a  large  majority 
of  those  who  joined  the  westward  hegira  when  it  first 
began  avoided  the  water  and  followed  the  footsteps  of 
Boone,  Calk,  Henderson,  Logan  and  the  other  land  pio¬ 
neers.  Boats  were  chosen  by  a  certain  number  of  those 
who  went  to  Kentucky  in  the  first  years  of  its  occupation, 
but  the  extensive  and  finally  predominant  use  of  the  Ohio 
system  of  rivers  as  highways  of  western  travel  was  a  some¬ 
what  later  phase  of  the  conquest. 

But  in  the  course  of  time  the  advance  of  the  popula¬ 
tion  along  natural  waterways  did  become  the  distinguish¬ 
ing  feature  of  American  travel,  and  on  the  accompanying 
map  are  to  be  found  the  several  land  routes  by  which  the 
interior  waters  were  reached  from  various  eastern  local¬ 
ities.  In  the  northeast  there  existed  a  trail  through  Mas¬ 
sachusetts2  over  which  the  New  Englanders  came  to  the 
Hudson  River.  Once  having  attained  that  stream  they 
had  a  choice  of  many  ways  by  which  their  migrations 
might  be  continued.  They  could  float  south  on  the 
river  and  with  little  difficulty  join  the  throngs  passing 
over  the  wilderness  roads;  they  could  go  to  the  north 
and  take  a  route  to  the  lakes  and  the  Northwest,3  or  an 
overland  march  through  New  York  to  the  Susquehanna 
would  bring  them  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Delaware  Bay 
region.  Those  who  lived  in  New  York,  eastern  Penn¬ 
sylvania  and  New  Jersey  could  do  as  the  New  England 
people  did.  Two  lines  of  travel  led  out  of  Philadelphia. 

1  The  experiences  of  those  who  travelled  by  water  will  be  described  in  later  chapters. 

2  Already  mentioned. 

3  By  way  of  the  Mohawk  and  Oswego  Rivers  of  New  York. 

159 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


Besides  the  one  already  mentioned,  another,  as  shown  on 
the  map,  extended  directly  west  through  the  center  of 
Pennsylvania  to  Pittsburgh  and  the  headwaters  of  the 
Ohio.  A  similar  trail  that  afterward  like  all  the  rest  grew 
into  a  wagon  road,  connected  Baltimore1  with  Redstone2 
on  the  Monongahela  River.  From  Richmond  a  path  led 
northwest  through  Virginia  until  it  joined  the  trace  from 
Baltimore  just  east  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  and  by 
that  method  the  upper  Ohio  was  gained  from  the  Old 
Dominion.  All  these  roads  came  into  active  use  soon 
after  the  first  penetration  of  the  wilderness  took  place, 
and  they,  together  with  the  waters  which  they  touched, 
constituted  the  only  extensive  American  travel  routes  dur¬ 
ing  the  generation  which  witnessed  the  eruption  of  popu¬ 
lation  from  the  coast  region  into  the  interior.  It  was  over 
such  a  transportation  system  that  the  people  journeyed, 
amid  difficulties  and  with  a  slowness  no  longer 
to  be  realized,  as  they  began  their  conquest  of  the  conti¬ 
nent.  A  trip  to  Kentucky  from  the  East,  if  expeditiously 
performed  and  free  from  accident,  required  from  one 
month  to  two  months  for  its  accomplishment.  The  time 
spent  on  the  road  depended  on  the  season  of  the  year  and 
point  of  departure. 

There  was  one  feature  of  the  travels  undertaken  by 
the  southern  cabin  dwellers  in  their  exodus  to  the  West 
that  in  principle  furnishes  a  sharp  contrast  to  later  con¬ 
ditions.  To-day  all  land  transportation  routes  are  laid  out 
by  scientists  for  the  purpose  of  avoiding,  if  possible,  every 
deviation  from  a  horizontal  level.  Grades  are  abhorred, 
and  if  found  to  be  inevitable,  they  are  reduced  to  the 

1  The  road  from  Baltimore  passed  for  a  part  of  its  extent  over  the  route  taken  by 
Braddock  in  his  expedition.  Fifty  years  later  a  section  of  it  was  incorporated  in  the 
National  Turnpike,  which  was  built  by  the  government  and  in  the  heyday  of  stage¬ 
coach  times  formed  an  unbroken  artery  from  the  Atlantic  to  Indiana,  Illinois  and  St.  Louis. 

2  Now  Brownsville,  Pa. 


160 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


lowest  obtainable  degree  by  every  expedient  of  engineer¬ 
ing.  Water  courses  and  valleys  have  therefore  been 
looked  upon  with  favor  by  the  builders  of  modern  man- 
created  routes  of  travel.  Not  so  with  the  pioneers  who 
opened  the  overland  way  into  the  West.  They  shunned 
the  continued  proximity  of  rivers,  crossed  a  stream  or 
valley  instead  of  following  it,  climbed  mountains  and 


42. — A  common  incident  of  life  in  the  Kentucky  forest  during  the  contest  for 

racial  supremacy  there. 


went  stubbornly  onward.1  They  moved  like  an  army 
of  ants,  and  fixing  their  eyes  toward  a  distant  land 
marched  as  directly  as  the  country  and  their  own  powers 
would  let  them,  surmounting  each  obstacle  as  it  appeared 
until  they  reached  the  goal. 

So  many  of  the  hill  people  of  Virginia  had  started 

1  The  increased  use  of  tunnel  and  bridge  construction  by  railroads  in  recent  years  is 
developing  a  tendency,  on  the  part  of  modern  travel  systems,  to  return  in  a  measure  to 
the  direct-line  principle  of  the  pioneers. 


161 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


over  the  wilderness  paths  during  the  first  four  years  of 
the  exodus  that  the  colonial  legislature  took  official  notice 
of  the  migration  and  recognized  the  need  of  a  better 
means  of  travel  to  the  western  country.  It  passed  an 
act  in  1779  giving  to  certain  officials  the  duty  of  laying 
out  the  most  suitable  line  for  a  road,  and  of  clearing  it 
so  that  footmen  and  pack-horses  could  journey  toward  the 
west  with  least  trouble.  Provision  was  made  for  guarding 
the  surveyors  and  laborers  from  hostile  attack.  Some 
work  was  done  under  this  act  and  the  original  trace 
was  thereby  improved,  but  no  horse-drawn,  four-wheeled 
wagon  was  seen  on  it  for  sixteen  years  thereafter.  In 
1792  the  Kentucky  settlers  themselves  took  up  the  matter 
of  improving  their  communications  with  the  East,  and  a 
considerable  number  of  the  most  influential  men  among 
them  subscribed  a  fund  of  several  hundred  pounds  for 
bettering  the  first  Wilderness  Road.  With  the  money 
so  obtained  a  large  force  was  put  to  work.  The  men 
were  given  two  shillings  and  sixpence  for  a  day’s  labor.1 

Kentucky’s  first  legislation  in  connection  with  the 
travel  trails  through  the  forest  was  an  act  passed  in  1793. 
It  related  to  guarding  Boone’s  Trace  by  blockhouses,  the 
enlistment  of  men  for  the  purpose,  and  their  pay.  During 
1794  the  state  provided  for  improving  a  part  of  the  trace 
between  Boonesborough  and  the  neighborhood  of  Rock¬ 
castle  River,  where  Logan’s  trail  diverged  from  it,  in  or¬ 
der  to  provide  an  easier  road  between  Boonesborough  and 
the  settlements  in  the  vicinity  of  Crab  Orchard.  In  1795 
the  lawmakers  passed  a  bill  entitled  “An  act  opening  a 
Wagon  Road  to  Cumberland  Gap.”  This  was  the  first 
legislation  in  the  West  dealing  with  the  question  of  travel 
facilities.  When  it  was  placed  on  the  statute  books,  far 

1  Speed’s  “Wilderness  Road,”  pp.  47-50. 

162 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


out  in  the  interior  forests,  the  present  city  of  Buffalo  was 
a  trifling  settlement  less  than  a  year  old,  and  the  white 
people  of  New  York  state  had  but  recently  established 
themselves  west  of  the  Susquehanna  River.1  Two  thou¬ 
sand  pounds  were  appropriated  by  the  bill  for  the  con¬ 
struction  of  the  road,  which  was  to  extend  from  Cumber¬ 
land  Gap,  along  existing  trails,  to  Crab  Orchard.  It  was  to 
be  suitable  for  wagons  and  carriages.  Other  similar  official 
action  followed,  and  within  a  few  years  vehicles  could 
make  the  entire  trip  over  the  path  that  Boone  had  marked 
with  his  hatchet  as  he  pushed  his  way  through  the  thickets 
and  woods  at  the  head  of  his  little  band  of  axmen.2 

Travel  by  way  of  the  wilderness  roads  continued  to 
grow  steadily,  and  when  they  became  highways  on  which 
wagons  could  be  used  the  extent  of  the  traffic  upon  them 
was  increased  in  an  amazing  degree.3  Nor  did  the  human 
tide  flow  over  them  in  one  direction  only.  The  forest 
trails  were  but  one  of  two  ways  of  going  to  the  West;  for 
coming  back  with  any  degree  of  speed  they  were  for 
a  long  time  the  only  way.  It  was  feasible  to  drop  down 
the  Ohio  with  the  flow  of  the  water,  but  a  quick  return  to 
the  East  against  the  current  of  the  river  was  out  of  the 
question.  During  the  earliest  years  of  the  western  inva¬ 
sion  such  a  thing  was  not  considered.  All  who  were  com¬ 
pelled  to  make  the  trip  to  the  original  colonies  went  back 
across  the  mountains  and  rivers. 

The  chief  consideration  of  travellers  in  America  up 
to  about  the  last  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century  had 

1  Binghamton  and  Elmira  were  settled  in  1787,  Ithaca  in  1784,  Auburn  in  1793  and 
Buffalo  in  1794.  The  Susquehanna  was  the  limit  of  white  settlements  in  New  York  until 
after  the  Revolution. 

2  Speed  points  out  the  tribute  to  Boone  that  lay  in  the  after  action  of  Kentucky.  He 
says:  ‘*It  required  a  mind  of  far  more  than  ordinary  calibre  to  locate  through  more  than 
two  hundred  miles  of  mountain  wilderness  a  way  of  travel  which,  for  a  hundred  years, 
has  remained  practically  unchanged,  and  upon  which  the  state  has  stamped  its  approval 
by  the  expenditure  of  vast  sums  of  money  for  its  improvement.”  p.  29. 

3  By  the  year  1790  Kentucky  had  73,000  white  inhabitants  and  in  1800  the  population 
was  220,000. 

163 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


never  been  a  desire  to  save  time,  but  to  proceed  in  safety 
and  with  as  much  comfort1  as  was  possible.  There  were 
always  some  people  who  had  legitimate  cause  for  hurry,, 
but  they  did  not  permit  that  state  of  affairs  to  make  them 
careless.  They  preferred  to  pursue  their  way  slowly  and 
finish  the  journey  intact,  rather  than  to  go  a  part  of  the 
distance  lickety-split2  and  then  fall  off  a  mountain  or 
run  into  an  ambuscade.  Ordinary  conditions  of  existence 
were  sufficiently  enlivening  without  seeking  further  ex¬ 
citement  through  the  medium  of  hasty  and  careless  move¬ 
ment  from  place  to  place.  The  pioneers  took  a  full 
measure  of  caution  with  them  into  the  West,  and  so,  when 
one  of  them  foresaw  the  need  of  a  journey  back  to  the 
coast  he  made  inquiry  among  the  community  to  seek  others 
of  like  mind.  In  that  way  parties  for  the  return  were 
slowly  made  up,  and  occasionally  weeks  went  by  before 
all  were  ready.  Often  a  man  would  put  a  written  state¬ 
ment  of  his  intention  on  his  cabin  door  and  so  secure 
companions.  After  newspapers  were  established  their 
columns  were  employed  to  distribute  such  notices.  One 
of  the  early  Kentucky  papers,  the  Kentucky  Gazette /  con¬ 
tained  many  an  announcement  of  the  sort.  A  typical 
notice  read:  “A  large  company  will  start  from  the  Crab 
Orchard  on  the  20th  of  Feb,  in  order  to  go  through  the 
Wilderness.” 

There  were  few  tearful  partings  when  the  appointed 
day  came.  The  women  and  children  who  were  left  be¬ 
hind  in  the  care  of  their  neighbors  knew  quite  well  what 
might  happen  —  and  often  did  happen  —  but  the  good- 
bys  were  usually  spoken  with  more  stolidity  and  matter- 
of-factness  than  prevail  on  similar  occasions  to-day.  They 

1  Perhaps  it  would  be  better  to  say  with  as  little  discomfort. 

2  The  pioneers  used  the  phrase  for  indicating  swift  motion,  and  may  have  originated  it. 

3  Published  at  Lexington  in  1787. 


164 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


43. — Town-people  as  they  appeared  in  the  eighteenth  and  early  nineteenth  cen¬ 
tury,  during  the  period  indicated  by  the  preceding  sixteen  illustrations. 
Showing  the  more  pretentious  costumes  of  the  cities.  Backwoodsmen  did 
not  use  buttons  on  their  clothes  as  ornaments.  The  cabin  dwellers  deemed 
useless  buttons,  shoes  and  purchased  hats  to  be  signs  of  foppery  and  affecta¬ 
tion.  Sketch  by  Joshua  Shaw. 


were  a  people  who  of  necessity,  and  by  long  habit  and 
inherited  custom,  concealed  their  deeper  emotions.  For 
had  they  given  way  to  the  strain  of  their  existence  and 
allowed  the  uncertainty  amid  which  they  lived  to  over¬ 
whelm  their  thoughts  and  veto  action  they  must  have  col¬ 
lapsed,  as  a  social  organization,  utterly.1  A  singular 

1  “An  old  lady  who  had  been  in  the  forts  was  describing  to  Dr.  Brown  the  scenes  she 
had  witnessed  in  those  times  of  peril  and  adventure;  and,  among  other  things,  remarked 
that  during  the  first  two  years  of  her  residence  in  Kentucky,  the  most  comely  sight  she 
beheld,  was  seeing  a  young  man  dying  in  his  bed  a  natural  death.  She  had  been  familiar 
with  blood,  and  carnage  and  death,  but  in  all  those  cases  the  sufferers  were  the  victims  of 
the  Indian  tomahawk  and  scalping  knife;  and  that  on  an  occasion  when  a  young  man 
was  taken  sick  and  died,  after  the  usual  manner  of  nature,  she  said  the  rest  of  the  women 
sat  up  all  night,  gazing  upon  him  as  an  object  of  beauty.” — Bogart’s  “Daniel  Boone.” 

Doubtless  the  playful  roystering  of  the  pioneers;  their  display  of  mirth  and  enjoy¬ 
ment  over  very  trivial  matters,  and  an  insatiate  seeking  for  such  amusement  and  sport  as 
their  situation  permitted,  was  an  involuntary  effort  to  strike  a  natural  balance  in  the  display 
of  feeling. 


165 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


restraint  governed  their  outward  recognition  and  acknowl¬ 
edgment  of  surrounding  conditions.  In  the  records  they 
have  left  it  is  observed  that  gravest  emergencies,  and  the 
expedients  by  which  those  events  were  met,  are  mentioned 
— if  at  all — in  a  brief  and  most  commonplace  way. 
Some  things  were  not  to  be  dwelt  upon.  They  were  well 
known.  That  was  sufficient.  So  the  partings  were  soon 
over,  and  the  group  of  those  who  were  going  back  for  a 
time  to  the  distant  countries  of  the  East  disappeared  in  the 
forest.  Months  later  some  or  all  of  them  came  back, 
dropped  their  packs  on  the  cabin  floors  and  went  to 
work  again. 

One  of  the  best  and  most  dependable  among  the  few 
connected  narratives  of  the  conditions  that  distinguished 
travel  over  the  Wilderness  Road  is  to  be  found  in  an 
address  delivered  by  Chief  Justice  Robertson  of  Ken¬ 
tucky,  in  1843.  He  was  describing  what  had  been  told  to 
him  by  his  father  and  mother,  who  had  made  the  journey 
in  1779.  He  said : 

“This  beneficent  enactment  [law  under  which  settlers  could  ac¬ 
quire  land]  brought  to  the  country  during  the  fall  and  winter  of 
that  year  an  unexampled  tide  of  emigrants,  who,  exchanging  all  the 
comforts  of  their  native  society  and  homes  for  settlements  for  them¬ 
selves  and  their  children  here,  came  like  pilgrims  to  a  wilderness 
to  be  made  secure  by  their  arms  and  habitable  by  the  toil  of  their 
lives.  Through  privations  incredible  and  perils  thick,  thousands  of 
men,  women,  and  children  came  in  successive  caravans,  forming  continu¬ 
ous  streams  of  human  beings,  horses,  cattle  and  other  domestic  animals, 
all  moving  onward  along  a  lonely  and  houseless  path  to  a  wild  and 
cheerless  land.  Cast  your  eyes  back  on  that  long  procession,  .  .  . 

behold  the  men  on  foot  with  their  trusty  guns  on  their  shoulders,  driving 
stock  and  leading  packhorses;  and  the  women,  some  walking  with  pails 
on  their  heads,  others  riding  with  children  in  their  laps,  and  other  chil¬ 
dren  swung  in  baskets  on  horses,  fastened  to  the  tails  of  others  going 
before;  see  them  encamped  at  night,  expecting  to  be  massacred  by  In¬ 
dians;  behold  them  in  the  month  of  December,  in  that  ever-memorable 
season  of  unprecedented  cold  called  the  ‘hard  winter,’  traveling  two  or 

166 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


three  miles  a  day,  frequently  in  danger  of  being  frozen  or  killed  by  the 
falling  of  horses  on  the  icy  and  almost  impassable  trace,  and  subsisting  on 
stinted  allowances  of  stale  bread  and  meat;  but  now  lastly  look  at  them 
at  the  destined  fort,  perhaps  on  the  eve  of  merry  Christmas,  when  met 
by  the  hearty  welcome  of  friends  who  had  come  before,  and  cheered  by 
fresh  buffalo  meat  and  parched  corn,  they  rejoice  at  their  deliverance, 
and  resolve  to  be  contented  with  their  lot.” 

But  two  more  things  remain  to  be  said  regarding  the 
first  extensive  travels  undertaken  by  the  English  speaking 
population  in  America.  The  journey  of  seventy  thousand 
people  through  the  wilderness  to  Kentucky,  important 
as  it  was,  can  not  fairly  be  called  a  general  movement. 
It  did  not  originate  in  an  impulse  that  had  swept  over 
and  affected  the  people  of  all  the  colonies.  In  its  early 
and  decisive  stages  the  exodus  was  a  local  one,  affecting 
only  a  comparatively  small  section  of  the  country. 
For  a  number  of  years  the  Kentucky  settlements  and 
the  white  men’s  trail  that  led  to  them  could  be  likened  to 
a  long,  narrow  peninsula  of  Caucasian  civilization  that 
jutted  out  for  four  hundred  miles  into  unknown  regions, 
and  was  surrounded  by  them  on  all  sides  save  that  from 
which  the  travelled  road  connected  it  with  the  East.  Not 
until  the  Congress  of  the  confederated  colonies,  in  1787, 
passed  the  Ordinance  for  the  government  of  the  Territory 
of  the  United  States  Northwest  of  the  River  Ohio1  was 
there  manifested  such  a  general  public  interest  in  the  west¬ 
ern  country  as  produced  a  migration  to  it  from  all  parts  of 
the  new  nation.  With  that  governmental  action,  and 
the  popular  response  which  followed  it,  the  sectional 
causes  which  had  led  to  the  first  invasion  of  Ken¬ 
tucky  were  swallowed  up  in  a  general  and  national 
advance. 

The  remaining  feature  of  the  cabin  dwellers’  life 

1  The  ordinance  was  applied  to  the  territory  south  of  the  Ohio  in  1790. 

167 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


which  must  enlist  attention  in  these  pages  concerns  the 
fundamental  character  of  their  social  structure — the 
basis  on  which  was  built  the  deeds  they  performed.  Let 
us  take  our  last  view  of  them  through  the  words  of  an 
early  commentator.1  He  says: 

“Could  there  be  happiness  or  comfort  in  such  dwellings 


44. — A  view  showing  the  type  of  early  houses  in  the  towns,  and  the  usual 
condition  of  their  streets.  The  scene  is  in  Philadelphia, 
opposite  Independence  Hall. 


and  such  a  state  of  society?  To  those  who  are  accustomed 
to  modern  refinements,2  the  truth  appears  like  fable.  The 
early  occupants  of  log-cabins  were  among  the  most  happy 
of  mankind.  Exercise  and  excitement  gave  them  health; 
they  were  practically  equal;  common  danger  made  them 

1  The  extract  is  one  quoted  by  Ramsay  in  his  “Annals  of  Tennessee.”  Ramsay  does 
not  give  the  author. 

2  The  “refinements”  of  the  early  19th  century  are  meant. 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


mutually  dependent;  brilliant  hopes  of  future  wealth  and 
distinction  led  them  on;  and  as  there  was  ample  room  for 
all,  and  as  each  newcomer  increased  individual  and 
general  security,  there  was  little  room  for  that  envy, 
jealousy,  and  hatred  which  constitute  a  large  portion  of 
human  misery  in  older  societies.  Never  were  the  story, 
the  joke,  the  song,  and  the  laugh  better  enjoyed  than 
upon  the  hewed  blocks,  or  puncheon  stools,  around  the 
roaring  log  fire  of  the  early  western  settler.  The  lyre 
of  Apollo  was  not  hailed  with  more  delight  in  primitive 
Greece  than  the  advent  of  the  first  fiddler  among  the 
dwellers  of  the  wilderness;  and  the  polished  daughters  of 
the  East  never  enjoyed  themselves  half  so  well,  moving 
to  the  music  of  a  full  band,  upon  the  elastic  floor  of 
their  ornamental  ballroom,  as  did  the  daughters  of  the 
emigrants,  keeping  time  to  a  self-taught  fiddler,  on  the 
bare  earth  or  puncheon  floor  of  the  primitive  log-cabin. 
.  .  .  There  we  behold  woman  in  her  true  glory;  not  a 

doll  to  carry  silks  and  jewels;  not  a  puppet  to  be  dawdled 
by  fops,  an  idol  of  profane  adoration  reverenced  to-day, 
discarded  to-morrow;  admired  but  not  respected.  .  . 
We  see  her  as  a  wife,  partaking  of  the  cares,  and  guiding 
the  labors  of  her  husband,  and  by  her  domestic  diligence 
spreading  cheerfulness  all  round;  .  .  .  placing  all  her 
joy,  all  her  happiness,  in  the  merited  approbation  of 
the  man  she  loves.  As  a  mother,  we  find  her  the  affec¬ 
tionate,  the  ardent  instructress  of  the  children  she  has 
reared  from  infancy,  and  trained  up  to  thought  and  vir¬ 
tue,  to  meditation  and  benevolence;  addressing  them  as 
rational  beings,  and  preparing  them  to  become  men  and 
women  in  their  turn.” 

*  # 


169 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


“  Droop  not,  brother,  as  we  go 
Over  the  mountains,  westward  ho, 
Under  boughs  of  mistletoe 
Log  huts  we’ll  rear, 

While  herds  of  deer  and  buffalo 
Furnish  the  cheer; 

File  over  the  mountains,  steady,  boys; 
For  game  afar 

We  have  our  rifles  ready,  boys, 

Aha! 

Cheer  up,  brothers,  as  we  go 
Over  the  mountains,  westward  ho, 
When  we’ve  wood  and  prairie  land 
Won  by  our  toil, 

We’ll  reign  like  Kings  in  fairyland, 
Lords  of  the  soil, 

Then  westward  ho  in  legions,  boys, 

For  freedom’s  star 

Points  to  her  sunset  regions,  boys, 

Aha!”1 

1 A  chant  for  overland  westward  movers. 


CHAPTER  XI 


UNIVERSAL  TRANSPORTATION  FACILITIES,  RATHER  THAN 
POLITICS  OR  WARS,  THE  COMPELLING  FORCE  OF  A  REAL 
NATIONAL  UNITY  —  INTRODUCTION  OF  REGULARITY 
AND  PERIODICITY  IN  TRAVEL  —  ITS  CAUSES  AND  CIR¬ 
CUMSTANCES —  UNHEEDED  GROWTH  OF  THE  PRIN¬ 
CIPLE  AND  ITS  FINAL  EFFECT  —  REGULAR  STAGE¬ 
COACHES  APPEAR  —  THE  FOUR-WHEELED  FLYING 
MACHINE  —  TRAVEL  CONDITIONS  BETWEEN  PHILA¬ 
DELPHIA,  NEW  YORK,  BOSTON  AND  BALTIMORE  — 
DESCRIPTIONS  BY  TRAVELLERS  —  THE  “STEP-LIVELY” 
ERA  BEGINS 

WHILE  the  activities  just  traced  were  prevailing  in 
the  South  an  altogether  different  state  of  affairs 
existed  in  the  northern  colonies.  Three-quarters  of  a  cen¬ 
tury  had  been  required  to  produce  the  movement  toward 
the  interior  from  North  Carolina  and  Virginia,  and  that 
phenomenon  was  destined  to  be  the  chief  contribution  of 
the  South  toward  the  development  of  a  future  national 
transportation  system.  All  her  energy  and  restlessness 
were  gathered  into  one  tremendous  effort  along  a  path  of 
progress  that  the  North  could  not  tread.  The  surge 
of  the  southern  white  people  across  the  mountains  was 
a  logical  and  perhaps  inevitable  outgrowth  of  the 
social  and  natural  conditions  that  existed  in  the  region 
whence  it  started.  Those  conditions,  as  has  been  noted, 
were  in  no  way  similar  to  the  ones  which  had  pre- 

171 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


vailed  from  the  first  in  the  settled  sections  to  the  north¬ 
ward.  The  people  of  New  England  and  the  middle  col¬ 
onies  had  always  showed  a  tendency  to  gather  into  or 
near  compact  communities,  instead  of  adopting  the  plan¬ 
tation  and  cabin  system  that  chiefly  distinguished  the 
lower  commonwealths.1  And  just  as  the  southern  mode 
of  life  found  its  expression  in  the  exodus  to  the  unknown 
West,  so  also  did  the  northern  habits  of  living  control  the 
methods  by  which  its  advancement  toward  better  facili¬ 
ties  of  travel  was  made.  The  natures  of  the  two  sorts  of 
progress  that  distinguished  the  two  sections  were  radically 
variant.  One  was  an  outburst  of  supremely  important 
action  founded  on  a  deep-seated  impulse  that  called  for 
wide,  free,  pioneer  movement.  The  other  —  that  of  the 
North — was  a  slow,  long-continued,  almost  automatic 
process  which  had  for  its  purpose  the  improvement  of 
short  paths  from  one  spot  to  another  spot  near  by.  It, 
in  turn,  was  based  on  the  highly  developed  gregarious 
instinct  that  has  always  characterized  the  American 
man  of  the  North;  a  dependence  on  the  mass  rather 
than  on  self;  a  craving  for  crowds  and  to  be  part  of  the 
crowd,  no  matter  what  discomfort  his  desire  inflicted  on 
him.* 

There  were  two  results  of  those  northern  habits  of  liv¬ 
ing  in  groups  and  constantly  treading  the  same  path, 
and  in  time  they  came  to  shape  the  entire  transporta¬ 
tion  system  of  the  country  and  dictate  every  detail 
of  its  operation.  One  effect  was  the  speedy  trans¬ 
formation  of  a  few  original  primitive  routes  into 
successively  better  arteries  of  travel  as  increasing  popula- 

1  According  to  the  census  of  1910  more  than  forty  per  cent,  of  the  population  of  the 
northern  states  is  concentrated  in  cities  of  25,000  or  more.  In  the  South  the  corresponding 
jatio  is  about  twelve  per  cent.  These  figures  fairly  indicate  the  relative  intensities  of  the 
gregarious  habit  in  the  two  sections  during  every  period  of  their  history. 

2  The  quality  in  question  is  as  pronounced  to  day  as  it  ever  was,  and  its  effect  on 
present  travel  conditions  in  congested  localities  is  well  known. 

172 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


tion  cried  out  for  such  improvement.  The  others  result 
was  the  establishment  of  periodicity  and  regularity,  as  the 
primary  features  of  every  sort  of  traffic  that  moves  from 
one  place  to  another  throughout  the  continent.  Those 


Philadelphia*  ST  A  GE*WAG  CON,  awd  New*  York 
STAGE  BOAT  performs  thcfr  Stages  twice*  Week. 

I  OH  N  BUTL  E  -R,  with  his  wag 

«/  gon,  fets  out  on  Mondays  from  his  Houle,  at  the  §«gn 
ol  the  Death  of  the  Fox,  in  Strawberry  ally,  and  drives  the 
iame  day  to  Trenton  Ferry,,  when  Francis  Holman  meets 
him,  ana  proceeds  on  Tuefday  to  Brunfwick,  andthepaf- 
fengers  and  goods  being  fhifted  into  the  wa^on  o£  Itaac 
Fiizrandolph,  he  takes  them  to  the  New  Blazing-Star  to 
Jacob  FitzrandolpHl*  the  fame  day.  where  Robin  Fitzran* 
dolpb,  with  8  boat  well  filled,  will  receive  them,  and 
ta ke  them  to  New-  York  that  night .  John  Butler  return¬ 
ing  to  P  hiUdelphia  on  Tuefday  with  the  paltengm  and 
goods  delivered  to  him  by  FrancisHolman,  vvitf  again  fet 
out  for  Trenton  Ferry  on  Tburfday ,  and  Francis  Holman, 
dec.  will  carrytm  parfengers  and  goods,  with  tine  fame  Cx- 
petition  as  above  to  New-lfork.  Toctf, 


45. — Advertisement  of  a  stage  wagon  such  as  ran  regularly  between  Philadel¬ 
phia  and  New  York  about  1750.  Both  passengers  and  goods  were  carried. 
Periodicity  in  the  movement  of  travel  conveyances  in  America  had  been 
introduced  in  1732,  over  the  same  route. 


were  the  things  that  came  to  pass  because  the  people  of 
the  North  originally  gathered  together  in  towns  and  for¬ 
ever  trotted  back  and  forth  over  the  same  old  trails.  Such 
consequences,  though  slower  of  ultimate  realization  and 
unforeseen  by  those  who  brought  them  about,  were  to  be 
no  less  important  to  the  country’s  future  than  was  the 
eruption  that  conquered  the  wilderness.  Each  section, 

173 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


in  its  own  way,  did  the  thing  it  could  best  do  at  a  time 
when  there  was  no  coordination  of  action  between  them. 

North  and  South  had  not  yet  united  their  conflicting 
and  inharmonious  methods  and  characters  into  one  organ- 


***&& 


To  the  PUBLIC. 

THE  FLYING  MACHINE,  kept  by 

John  Meroeieau,  at  the  Hew  Blazing-Sfar- Ferry, 
near  New- York,  fets  off  from  PowlesHook  every  Mon. 
day,  Wedncfday,  and  Friday  Mornings,  for  Philadelphia, 
and  performs  the  Journey  in  a  Day  and  a  Half,  for  the 
Summer  Seafon,  till  the  iftof  h avember  j  from  that  Time 
to  go  twice  a  Week  till  the  firft  of  May,  when  they 
again  perform  it  three  Times  a  Week,.  When  the  Stages 
go  only  twice  a  Week,  they  fet  off  Mondays  and  Thurf 
days.  The  Waggons  in  Philadelphia  fet  out  from  the 
Sign  of  the  George,  in  Second- ftfeet,  the  fame  Morning. 
The  Paflengers  are  defsred  to crofs  the  Ferry  the  Evening 
before,  as  the  Stages  mutt  fet  off  early  the  next  Morning. 
The  Price  for  each  Pafiknger  ia  Twenty  Shillings,  Proe.  ami 
Goods  as  ufual.  Paflengers  going  Pari  of  the  Way  to  psy 
m  Proportion. 

As  the  Proprietor  has  madkfoch  Improvements  upon 
the  Machines,  one  of  which  is  in  Imitation  of  a  Coach 
he  hopes  to  merit  the  Favour  of  the  PubJick.  ' 

JOHN  MERCEREAU. 


46. — Mercereau’s  stage  wagon,  in  1771,  reduced  the  time  between  Philadelphia 
and  New  York  to  a  day  and  a  half.  In  celebration  of  the  achievement 
he  advertised  his  conveyance  as  “The  Flying  Machine.” 


ism,  and  even  when  they  did  so  the  principal  bond  of 
national  union,  being  at  first  political  and  arbitrary  in 
character,  lacked  for  a  long  time  the  elements  that  are 
necessary  for  the  welding  of  a  country  into  a  nation.  The 
day  of  a  real  unity  in  aspiration  and  action  was  only  to  be 

174 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


reached  through  the  creation  of  social  and  economic  con¬ 
ditions  which  would  bring  to  every  American  a  realiza¬ 
tion  that  all  other  men  between  the  oceans,  no  matter  how 
distant,  were  nevertheless  his  neighbors  and  friends.  For 
the  accomplishment  of  such  a  result  all  the  inhabitants 
had  to  be  brought  so  close  together  that  they  could  become 
acquainted  with  one  another,  and  understand  that  in 
fundamental  things  their  best  interests  and  common  wel¬ 
fare  were  not  dependent  on  sectional  residence  or  affected 
by  distance.  Those  geographical  considerations  had  to  be 
annihilated. 

The  importance  of  certain  features  of  life  in  the  north¬ 
ern  colonies  that  finally — in  the  eighteenth  century — 
led  to  the  establishment  of  periodic  and  regular  movement 
from  place  to  place  will  thus  be  seen.  The  fabric  of  our 
modern  travel  system  acquired  its  vital  characteristic  at 
that  time.  It  was  through  the  influence  of  transportation 
methods  and  their  improvement  and  expansion,  rather 
than  by  politics  or  wars,  that  a  real  national  unity  was  at 
last  created.  Some  attention  should  therefore  be  given  to 
those  conditions  out  of  which  grew  the  new  phase  of  travel 
history  in  America. 

Previous  to  about  the  year  1725,  the  time  at  which  a 
traveller  set  forth  on  his  journey  was  dependent  on  his 
own  desire,  and  the  date  of  his  arrival  at  his  destination 
was  altogether  a  matter  of  chance.  He  was  quite  satisfied 
to  get  there,  and  the  usual  delay  of  a  day  or  a  week  in  go¬ 
ing  a  hundred  miles  or  so  did  not  seriously  bother  him. 
The  transaction  of  all  the  affairs  of  life  was  accompanied 
by  a  certain  elasticity  and  vagueness  of  arrangement  whose 
necessity,  due  to  the  uncertainties  of  communication,  was 
recognized.  A  man  in  New  York,  instead  of  telephoning 
to  his  friend  in  Philadelphia,  “I’ll  meet  you  in  two  hours 

175 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


and  talk  it  over,”  sent  a  letter  which  said,  “I  now  expect 
to  start  one  week  from  to-morrow,  and  hope  to  see 
you  by  the  following  Friday  or  Saturday.”  Perhaps  he 
did;  but  if  he  didn’t,  no  matter;  he  was  reasonably  sure  to 
get  there  by  Sunday  or  Monday,  and  that  would  do  just 
as  well.  If  he  did  not  own  a  horse  and  could  not  hire 
one,  he  secured  passage  in  one  of  the  big,  awkward 
wagons  that  had  begun  to  appear  on  the  road  across  New 
Jersey  between  Perth  Amboy  and  Burlington  soon  after 
the  year  1700.  Those  wagons  were  used  both  for  the 
transportation  of  passengers  and  freight.  They  were 
drawn  by  four  or  six  horses,  often  painted  in  gaudy 
colors,  and  were  covered  with  canvas  tops  stretched  on 
arched  strips  of  wood.  The  wheels  were  big,  and  had 
tires  from  six  to  ten  inches  wide  made  of  hard  wood  or 
thin  iron.1  The  passenger  made  himself  as  comfortable 
as  he  could,  and  lodged  in  the  tavern  where  his  convey¬ 
ance  halted  for  the  night.  He  finished  the  trip  from 
Burlington  to  Philadelphia  by  sailboat,  just  as  he  had 
crossed  New  York  Bay  to  reach  Perth  Amboy. 

The  owners  of  the  wagons  had  no  stated  intervals 
for  the  trips,  but  made  them  whenever  sufficient  induce¬ 
ment  was  offered.  In  the  year  1707  this  road  across  New 
Jersey  became  the  theater  of  the  first  American  trans¬ 
portation  monopoly  of  which  there  is  any  account.  Gov¬ 
ernor  Cornbury  gave  the  exclusive  right  of  conducting 
traffic  to  a  few  men  acting  together.  The  Assembly  pro¬ 
tested,  and  in  answer  to  the  complaint  Cornbury  said: 
“At  present,  everybody  is  sure,  once  a  fortnight,  to  have 
an  opportunity  of  sending  any  quantity  of  goods,  great  or 
small,  at  reasonable  rates,  without  being  in  danger  of 
imposition;  and  the  sending  of  this  wagon  is  so  far  from 

1  Many  of  the  two-wheeled  carf<;  used  through  all  the  colonies  at  an  early  day  had 
wheels  that  were  sections  sawed  bodily  from  a  round  tree  trunk. 

176 


r 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


being  a  grievance  or  a  monopoly,  that  by  this  means,  and 
no  other,  a  trade  has  been  carried  on  between  Philadel¬ 
phia,  Burlington,  Amboy  and  New  York,  which  was 
never  known  before,  and  in  all  probability  never  would 
have  been.”1  The  monopoly  lasted  for  only  a  few  years, 
and  the  twice-a-month  wagon  between  the  two  cities  can 
hardly  be  called  the  introduction  of  the  element  of  regu¬ 
larity  into  land  transportation.2  In  truth  the  roads  did  not 
yet  permit  of  the  establishment  of  travel  facilities  as  a 
business  enterprise.  During  a  considerable  part  of 
the  year  they  were  little  else  than  mud-holes  of  a  length 
equal  to  the  distance  between  the  two  points  they  con¬ 
nected,  and  from  ten  to  twenty  feet  wide.  No  impor-  ' 
tant  bridges  had  yet  been  built  in  the  colonies,  and 
few  of  any  sort.  No  stream  more  than  a  few  yards  in 
width  had  been  spanned  by  such  a  structure3  and  the 

1  The  governor  was  short-sighted.  To-day  he  could  make  five  or  six  round  trips  between 
the  two  cities  in  twenty-four  hours,  using  only  regular  public  conveyances. 

2  One  of  the  factors  that  no  doubt  contributed  to  the  establishment  of  regular  trips 
for  stage  wagons  (the  first  periodic  travel  vehicles  in  America)  was  the  ear  y  postal 
service,  which  did  attain  at  times  a  slight  semblance  of  regularity.  The  carriers  travelled 
on  horses.  A  summary  of  the  development  of  the  primitive  post  is  here  given: 

1673. — First  land  conveyance  of  letters  between  New  York  and  Boston.  Time,  three 
weeks. 

1692. — Attempt  to  establish  postal  service  in  Virginia.  Result  a  failure.  Cause, 
■“the  dispersed  condition  of  the  inhabitants.” 

1717. — Mails  carried  from  Boston  to  Virginia  in  one  month  during  the  summer;  in 
winter  the  time  was  two  months. 

1720. — Regular  mail  from  Philadelphia  to  New  York  once  a  week.  Time  of  trip 
three  days. 

1729. — Regular  mail  each  way  between  the  same  cities;  once  a  week  in  the  summer 
and  twice  a  month  in  winter.  Time  of  trip,  two  and  a  half  days. 

1754.  — Franklin  made  Colonial  Postmaster.  He  reduced  the  trip  between  New  York 
and  Philadelphia  to  about  thirty-six  hours  and  sent  mails  three  times  every  week,  except 
in  winter,  when  two  mails  a  week  were  despatched. 

1755.  — Franklin  established  a  weekly  mail  between  Philadelphia  and  Boston  and 
announced  with  some  pride  that  a  letter  might  be  sent  from  one  city  to  the  other,  and 
an  answer  received,  in  three  weeks.  The  time  for  such  service  was  thus  cut  exactly  in  half. 

1764. — Mails  between  Philadelphia  and  New  York  carried  in  twenty-four  hours,  by 
relay,  and  letters  sent  every  other  day. 

1790. — Regular  mails  between  Boston  and  New  York.  Time,  five  days.  Sent  three 
times  a  week. 

The  times  given  fairly  indicate  the  swiftest  travel  between  the  towns  named. 

3  The  law  passed  by  Pennsylvania  colony  in  1683  is  an  example  of  early  bridge  and 
highway  legislation.  In  part  it  read  as  follows: 

‘‘Bridges  shall  be  built  over  all  small  creeks  and  rivers  that  are  difficult,  or  apt  to 
he  high  by  sudden  Rain,  in  the  King’s  highway,  .  .  .  which  bridges  shall  be  ten 

feet  broad  and  a  rail  on  each  side;  and  that  all  trees  stubbs,  and  stumps  of  tre^s,  that 
lie  in,  and  cross  the  said  highway,  and  all  passages  [meaning  fords]  in  and  out  of  creeks 
and  branches  may  be  made  safe  and  easy  both  for  hcrse  and  cart,  at  the  charge  of 
the  respective  counties. 

“  And  such  overseers  shall  summon  in  all  their  inhabitants  of  the 

respective  limits,  to  come  in  and  work  at  the  making  of  all  highways  and  bridges  therein, 
upon  penalty  of  five  pounds  ...” 

1 77 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


traveller  had  to  cross  every  river  worthy  of  the  name  in 
a  ferry  boat  or  encamp  on  the  bank  until  the  subsidence 
of  a  freshet  permitted  him,  in  a  few  days,  to  proceed. 
None  of  the  early  laws  relating  to  the  establishment  of 
ferries1  and  the  rates  of  toll  exacted  for  their  use  make 


47. — A  stage  wagon  such  as  was  used  in  the  East  from  about  1780  until  1800. 
It  followed  the  Flying  Machine  variety  of  conveyance,  and  was  an  inter¬ 
mediate  link  between  the  canvas-covered  wagon  and  the  later  stage-coach. 
Similar  to  the  colored  engraving  reproduced  as  the  frontispiece  to  Volume  I. 


mention  of  wheeled  vehicles  of  any  sort.  The  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  ferry  acts  of  1683,  1690  and  1693  refer  to  pack- 
horses,  and  to  hogs,  sheep  and  other  farm  animals,  and 
fix  a  rate  of  “two  pence  a  head  for  carrying  over  every 

1  The  first  ferries  were  single  canoes,  or  two  or  more  such  craft  lashed  together. 
The  second  type  was  a  wide,  flat-bottomed  plank  boat  moved  by  pole  or  oars.  The  third 
sort  was  a  similar  flatboat  pulled  across  the  stream  by  a  rope  or  propelled  by  sails. 

178 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


person,  and  with  a  horse,  four  pence.”  The  New  Jersey 
ferry  legislation  of  1 7 1 61  only  named  toll  rates  for  a 
“single  person”  or  for  “horse  and  man.” 

Then  came  a  first  inkling  of  what  the  future  held  in 
store.  Road  vehicles  appeared  and  multiplied.  The 
primitive  two-wheeled  cart  and  heavy,  slow  moving 
wagon,  in  neither  of  which  could  rivers  be  crossed  or 
long  journeys  made,  blossomed  into  land  craft  designed 
exclusively  for  travel  purposes.  The  change  took  place 
during  the  years  between  1716  and  1723,  and,  as  might  be 
expected,  on  the  road  between  Philadelphia  and  New 
York.  Pennsylvania  colony  established  the  ferry  across 
the  Schuylkill  River  between  Philadelphia  and  the  east¬ 
ern  shore  of  that  stream  in  1723,  and  in  the  law  then 
enacted  is  to  be  found  a  recognition  of  the  new  conditions 
which  had  arisen.  The  ferry  charges  were :  “For  a  coach 
or  chariot,2  one  shilling.  For  a  chaise3  of  four  wheels, 
six  pence.  For  a  chaise  of  two  wheels,  four  pence.  For 
a  cart  or  wagon,  with  their  loading,  one  shilling;  and 
without  loading,  six  pence.  For  a  sled,  loaded  or  un¬ 
loaded,  one  penny.”  Soon  the  highway  between  the  two 
towns  became  busy  with  various  types  of  equipages,  more 
taverns  sprang  up  along  the  route  for  the  accommodation 
of  wayfarers  and  the  road  itself,  under  the  pressure  of 
necessity,  was  made  fit  for  the  first  stage  wagons  and 
the  establishment  of  public  conveyances  as  a  distinct  and 
separate  commercial  enterprise. 

Periodicity  and  regularity  as  elements  of  travel  in 
America  seem  to  have  appeared  — so  far  as  the  records 


1  Dealing  with  the  ferry  over  the  Raritan,  at  New  Brunswick,  which  had  been  estab¬ 

lished  in  1696. 

3  A  four-wheeled  vehicle  with  the  body  entirely  enclosed,  and  used  exclusively  for 
travel  purposes. 

3  The  chaise  has  been  mentioned.  It  was  a  “chair”  with  a  covered  top.  The  two- 
v.'heeled  chaise  somewhat  resembled  a  modern  sulky  with  a  leather  rain  shelter. 

179 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


show — in  the  year  17321  and  the  men  who  first  in¬ 
troduced  those  features  into  the  transportation  system  of 
the  continent  were  Solomon  Smith  and  James  Moore,  of 
Burlington,  New  Jersey.  The  Philadelphia  Mercury , 
in  March  of  that  year,  contained  the  following  an¬ 
nouncement: 

“This  is  to  give  notice  unto  gentlemen,  merchants,  tradesmen,  trav¬ 
ellers  and  others,  that  Solomon  Smith  and  James  Moore,  of  Burlington, 
keepeth  two  stage  wagons  intending  to  go  from  Burlington  to  Amboy, 
and  back  from  Amboy  to  Burlington  again,  once  every  week  or  oftener 
if  that  business  presents.  They  have  also  a  very  good  storehouse,  very 
commodious  for  the  storing  of  any  sort  of  merchants’  goods  free  from 
any  charges,  where  good  care  will  be  taken  of  all  sorts  of  goods.” 

From  that  advertisement  and  the  little  business 
whose  establishment  it  proclaims  have  grown  all  the 
schedules,  time  tables,  railway  stations,  freight  depots  and 
the  whole  complex  system  of  movement  which  has  become 
the  chief  and  indispensable  feature  of  modern  American 
life.  Small  thought  did  its  originators  give  to  the  nature 
of  the  enterprise  whose  seed  they  planted.  Yet  the  prin¬ 
ciple  of  organizing  and  selling  periodic  transportation 
was  destined  to  creep  unheeded  over  the  land  by  such 
slow  and  imperceptible  degrees,  and  with  so  many  altera¬ 
tions  in  its  outward  appearance  and  its  relations  to  the 
public  need,  that  it  had  become  the  master  of  all  men  and 
the  arbiter  of  their  affairs  before  the  people  awoke  to 
an  understanding  of  its  relation  to  them  and  the  country. 
At  last  they  have  realized  what  it  means.  Had  they 
appreciated  at  an  early  day  the  potencies  which  lay  con¬ 
cealed  within  that  principle  there  is  little  doubt  that  the 
history  of  the  last  few  generations  would  have  been  dif¬ 
ferently  written.  The  legacy  bequeathed  by  Solomon 

1  The  event  may  have  occurred  a  little  earlier  without  any  prominent  contemporary 
record  of  it.  If  so,  the  first  regular  transportation  of  travellers  no  doubt  took  place  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Boston. 


180 


stage  wagon  of  1798  passing  through  High  Street,  in  Philadelphia.  Similar  to  the  preceding,  but  more 
heavily  built.  Even  over  good  roads,  coaches  of  this  weight  could  only  make  five 
or  six  miles  an  hour  when  pulled  by  four  horses. 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


Smith  and  James  Moore  has  become  one  of  the  foremost 
problems  of  the  present  and  future. 

The  passengers  in  the  stage  wagons  of  Solomon  and 
James  bounced  over  the  road  for  about  a  week  and  in 
due  course  came  to  their  destination.  Other  similar 
lines  of  regular  public  conveyances  were  soon  established. 
Another  road  across  New  Jersey,1  over  which  travellers 
between  New  York  and  Philadelphia  went  by  way  of 
New  Brunswick  and  Bordentown,  was  made  the  route  of 
rival  stages  in  1734.  The  proprietor  guaranteed  that  his 
vehicle  would  make  the  trip  “once  a  week  if  wind  and 
weather  permit.”  A  line  which  was  started  in  1744  took 
people  back  and  forth  between  Trenton  and  New  Bruns¬ 
wick  twice  a  week.  Still  another  pioneer  in  the  new 
business  appealed  to  the  public  for  patronage  in  1750. 
He  said  he  “had  a  stage  boat  well  fitted  for  the  purpose, 
which,  wind  and  weather  permitting,  would  leave  New 
York  every  Wednesday  for  the  ferry  at  Amboy  on  Thurs¬ 
day,  where,  on  Friday,  a  stage  wagon  would  be  ready  to 
proceed  immediately  to  Bordentown,  where  they  would 
take  another  stage  boat  to  Philadelphia.”  This  system  of 
boats  and  wagons  hurried  travellers  over  the  ninety  miles 
in  about  five  days,  and  the  proprietor  boasted  that  his 
conveyances  reduced  the  previous  time  for  the  journey 
by  about  forty-eight  hours.  Within  a  twelve-month  the 
growing  demand  of  the  public  for  convenience  and  com¬ 
fort  in  travel  was  reflected  in  the  announcement  of  a  new 
company  to  the  effect  that  its  boat  between  New  York  and 
Amboy  possessed  a  cabin,  and  was  fitted  with  a  table  and 
other  luxuries. 

The  year  1756  found  a  brisk  competition  for  passenger 
traffic  between  the  two  cities,  and  the  time  consumed  on 

1  It  had  existed  for  some  time. 


182 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


the  way  was  still  further  reduced  to  three  days.  In 
an  advertisement  giving  the  itinerary  by  which  this 
miracle  was  accomplished  the  proprietors  of  the  wagons 
said:  “It  is  hoped,  that  as  these  Stages  are  attended  with 
a  considerable  Expense,  for  the  better  accommodating 
Passengers,  that  they  will  merit  the  Favours  of  the  Pub- 
lick;  and  whoever  will  be  pleased  to  favour  them  with 
their  Custom,  shall  be  kindly  used,  and  have  due  Attend¬ 
ance  given  them.” 

Besides  the  reduction  in  time  of  passage  resulting  from 
this  competition,  the  contest  between  various  proprietors 
of  wagons  produced  the  first  public  exhibition  of  jealousy, 
based  on  transportation  rivalry,  which  appeared  in  the 
colonies.  The  proprietor  of  a  new  line  was  aggrieved 
at  uncomplimentary  criticisms  of  his  enterprise  scattered 
broadcast  by  opposing  stage  owners,  and  in  reply  he  pub¬ 
lished  the  following  advertisement: 

Philadelphia,  November  n,  1756. 

Bordentown  Stage  Continued. 

Joseph  Borden’s  stage  boat,  Joseph  Canida  master,  attends  at  the 
crooked-billet  wharf  every  monday  and  tuesdav,  and  his  shallop,  Daniel 
H  arrison  Master,  at  the  same  place  every  friday  and  Saturday,  stage 
waggons  attends  the  said  boats,  the  stageboat  at  Amboy  commanded  by 
Aaron  Edwards.  As  to  the  owners  of  the  Burlington  stage  boasting 
of  their  advantages  being  superior  to  mine,  I  shall  not  take  the  trouble 
to  make  reply  too,  because  the  publick  by  this  time  is  the  best  judges 
of  our  stages  and  their  advantages,  only  shall  just  note  the  last  clause 
of  their  advertisement,  that  is,  they  say  we  are  one  tide  more  upon  the 
water,  than  they  are,  which  in  fact,  is  saying  we  are  always  two  tides 
upon  one  passage.  Well  done  brother  adventurers,  that  is  a  large  one. 
All  gentlemen  and  ladies,  that  please  to  favour  me  with  their  business, 
may  depend  upon  the  utmost  care  and  dispatch,  of  their  humble  servant. 

Joseph  Borden. 

Every  hour  clipped  off  the  usual  time  of  passage  by 
the  lumbering  vehicles  inspired  a  proud  proclamation 
to  the  public.  The  suffering  travellers,  sitting  on  their 
benches  during  such  a  record  trip,  and  bounced  about 

183 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


in  the  springless  wagons  like  corn  in  a  popper,  clutched 
one  another  in  desperation  while  they  gasped  out  their 
admiration  and  delight  at  the  privilege  of  participating 
in  the  memorable  event.  If  the  trip  was  a  slow  one  they 
held  on  just  the  same,  and  grumbled  over  the  wretched 
accommodations  and  disgraceful  delay.  The  cry  was 
ever  for  more  speed.  The  “step-lively”  era  had  begun. 
By  1771  the  public  demand  for  hurry  as  a  prime  con¬ 
sideration  of  travel  had  become  so  marked  that  the  trip 
from  New  York  to  Philadelphia  was  made  in  a  day  and 
a  half,  and  the  proprietor  of  the  pre-Revolutionary  express 
which  sped  over  the  distance  in  that  amazing  time  was 
blesssd  with  an  inspiration.  He  named  his  wagon  The 
Flying  Machine 7  In  reality  the  advertised  day  and  a 
half  was  nearly  two  days,  for  the  west-bound  wagon  left 
Amboy  at  three  o’clock  in  the  morning,  and  an  intending 
passenger  had  to  depart  from  New  York  by  sailboat  on 
the  previous  evening  in  order  to  secure  his  seat.  The  fare 
between  the  two  towns  was  twenty  shillings,  and  ad¬ 
ditional  expense  of  meals  and  lodging  brought  the  total 
cost  of  the  journey  each  way  to  about  twenty-six  shillings, 
or  six  dollars  and  a  half. 

As  the  owner  of  The  Flying  Machine  says  in  his  ad¬ 
vertisement,  one  of  his  wagons  was  made  in  imitation  of 
a  coach.  The  old-fashioned  vehicle  which  appeared  soon 
after  the  year  1700,  and  that  had  remained  in  use  with 
almost  no  alteration  for  nearly  three  quarters  of  a  cen¬ 
tury,  during  the  first  part  of  which  period  it  had  carried 
both  passengers  and  freight,  was  at  last  evolving  into  the 
first  distinctive  type  of  land  craft  exclusively  used  for 
human  travel  in  America.  The  archaic  wagon  was  dis¬ 
tinguished  by  its  straight  sides  and  tunnel-shaped  top 

1  See  reproduction  of  the  vehicle  in  Mercereau’s  advertisement. 

184 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


made  of  linsey-woolsey  or  some  similar  heavy  woven  ma¬ 
terial.  It  contained  three  or  four  wooden  benches  with 
no  backs,  that  extended  from  side  to  side  of  the  vehicle. 
There  were,  of  course,  no  springs.  The  first  changes 
marking  the  transformation  of  such  a  wagon  into  the 


49. — Another  coach  deviating  still  further  from  the  archaic  form  and  suggesting 
the  football-shaped  vehicle  that  was  soon  to  appear. 


earliest  form  of  stage-coach  were  the  flattening  of  its  top 
and  the  adoption  of  side  curtains  made  of  leather  or  wool. 
The  benches  and  their  arrangement  for  a  time  remained 
the  same,  and  a  passenger  had  to  climb  over  the  foremost 
seats  to  reach  those  in  the  rear.  Next,  the  benches  were 
equipped  with  boards  or  strips  of  leather  for  backs,  the 
body  of  the  wagon  was  increased  in  height  and  built  more 
substantially,  and  was  still  later  increased  slightly  in  its 
width.  Finally  the  seats  for  passengers  were  set  on 
wrought-iron  springs,  or  held  up  by  yielding  leather 

185 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 

straps.  Such  public  equipages  were  still  painted  in 
bright  colors,  and  were  drawn  by  four  horses  which  were 
changed  every  few  miles. 

A  description  of  the  trip  from  New  York  to  Phila¬ 
delphia  in  the  Flying  Diligence  after  the  journey  had 
been  still  further  reduced  to  about  sixteen  hours  of  actual 
land  travel  is  found  in  a  record  of  that  time.1 

“Between  three  and  four  in  the  morning,”  the  narrator  says,  “we  set 
off  in  the  stage,  rode  nine  miles  to  Bergen  Neck,  and  then  crossed  a 
ferry  which  brought  us  to  Woodbridge.  Just  before  we  reached  the 
second  ferry  we  perceived  the  dawn  of  day,  and,  when  we  were  two 
miles  from  it,  the  sun  rose,  so  that  we  had  ridden  sixteen  miles  and 
crossed  two  ferries  before  sunrise,  besides  shifting  horses  twice.  The 
third  stage  brought  us  to  Brunswick,  where  we  breakfasted.  We 
crossed  the  Raritan  in  a  scow,  open  at  both  ends  to  receive  and  discharge 
the  carriage  without  unharnessing  or  dismounting,  and  the  scow  was 
pulled  across  the  river  by  a  rope.  We  passed  through  Princeton  about 
noon,  and  got  to  Trenton  for  dinner;  then  passed  the  Delaware  in  an¬ 
other  scow  which  was  navigated  only  by  setting  poles;  drove  thirty 
miles  over  a  plain,  level  country  at  a  great  rate,  and  arrived  in  Phila¬ 
delphia  at  sunset.” 

Periodic  and  regular  travel  by  means  of  similar  stage 
wagons  between  Boston  and  other  New  England  towns, 
and  between  Boston  and  New  York,  was  speedily  estab¬ 
lished.  The  Boston  Post  newspaper  of  1767  contained  an 
advertisement  announcing  the  opening  of  a  line  between 
that  city  and  Providence,  in  Rhode  Island  Plantations, 
and  before  the  Revolution  similar  enterprises  connected 
all  the  important  places  in  Massachusetts,  Connecticut 
and  Rhode  Island.  Land  travel  to  upper  New  England 
had  always  been  exceedingly  slow  and  difficult,  and  still 
remained  so.  When  Franklin  became  postmaster  of  the 
Colonies,  in  1754,  the  trip  from  Philadelphia  to  Ports¬ 
mouth,  in  New  Hampshire,  required  eighteen  days,  and 
a  considerable  part  of  the  journey  could  only  be  per- 

1  Belknap’s  “History  of  New  Hampshire.” 

186 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


formed  on  horseback.1  The  absence  of  numerous  compact 
groups  of  population,  coupled  with  the  physical  rough¬ 
ness  of  the  country  and  the  distances  to  be  traversed,  were 
conditions  which  necessarily  postponed  the  introduction 
of  travel  periodicity  in  Maine,  New  Hampshire  and 
Vermont. 

The  earliest  stages  that  made  through  trips  from  Bos¬ 
ton  to  New  York  were  more  than  a  week  on  the  way.2 
Their  introduction  was  delayed  both  by  the  condition  of 
the  roads  and  the  greater  physical  comfort  that  attended 
a  trip  by  water.  Sailboats  could  be  depended  on  to  con¬ 
vey  their  passengers  between  the  two  cities  as  quickly  as 
wagons,  save  under  exceptional  weather  conditions.3  One 
of  the  few  early  descriptions  of  a  journey  from  Boston  to 
New  York  in  a  primitive  stage-coach  is  that  of  President 
Josiah  Quincy,  of  Harvard  College.  He  tells  of  it  thus: 


“I  set  out  from  Boston  in  the  line  of  stages  of  an  enterprising  Yan¬ 
kee,  Pease  by  name  ;4  considered  a  method  of  transportation  of  wonder¬ 
ful  expedition.  The  journey  to  New  York  took  up  a  week.  The  car¬ 
riages  were  old  and  shackling,  and  much  of  the  harness  of  ropes.  We 
reached  our  resting  place  for  the  night,  if  no  accident  intervened,  at 
10  o’clock,  and,  after  a  frugal  supper,  went  to  bed  with  a  notice  that 
we  should  be  called  at  three  which  generally  proved  to  be  half-past  two, 
and  then,  whether  it  snowed  or  rained,  the  traveller  must  rise  and  make 
ready,  by  the  help  of  a  horn  lantern  and  a  farthing  candle,  and  pro¬ 
ceed  on  his  way  over  bad  roads,  sometimes  getting  out  to  help  the  coach¬ 
man  lift  the  coach  out  of  a  quagmire  or  rut,  and  arrived  in  New  York 
after  a  week’s  hard  travelling,  wondering  at  the  ease,  as  well  as  the  ex¬ 
pedition,  with  which  our  journey  was  effected.”  The  fare  was  about 
two  pounds  and  a  half. 


1  When  Daniel  Webster  came  to  Massachusetts  to  attend  school  in  1796  he  made  the 
trip  from  New  Hampshire  on  horseback. 

Webster,  in  speaking  of  travel  conditions  in  New  England  in  1805,  said:  “Stages 
then  no  more  ran  into  the  center  of  New  Hampshire  than  they  ran  to  Baffins  Bay.” 

2  It  took  Washington  twelve  days  to  go  from  Philadelphia  to  Boston  in  1775,  on  his 
way  to  assume  command  of  the  Continental  army. 

3  The  Boston  and  Providence  newspapers  published  between  1780  and  1790  contained 
advertisements  of  passenger  sailboats  plying  between  those  cities  and  New  York.  The 
fare  on  them  was  usually  20  or  24  shillings.  Meals  were  10  or  12  shillings  extra. 

4  Pease  was  one  of  the  prominent  stage-coach  proprietors  of  the  time,  and  established 
numerous  lines  between  many  towns. 


187 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


Those  were  the  conditions  under  which  a  man  was 
transported  between  the  two  cities  in  the  early  years  of 
periodic  travel.  He  spent  nineteen  hours  a  day  either 
bouncing  in  or  pushing  his  own  conveyance,  and  was  then 
allowed  four  hours  in  which  to  obtain  sleep  before  setting 
forth  again,  without  any  breakfast,  on  another  day  of  simi¬ 
lar  exertion.  At  the  end  of  a  week  of  like  experiences  the 
traveller  “wondered  at  the  ease  as  well  as  the  expedition” 
with  which  he  had  reached  his  journey’s  end. 

But  things  improved  on  that  road,  just  as  they  did 
over  the  route  to  Philadelphia,  and  by  1793  the  ordinary 
man  could  journey  from  Boston  to  New  York  in  four 
days,  along  smoother  highways,  and  at  a  cost  of  three 
pence  (six  cents)  a  mile.  He  could,  in  fact,  do  even  better 
than  that.  The  demand  for  speed  had  become  so  urgent 
that  an  express  line  existed  for  the  accommodation  of  those 
whose  business  admitted  of  no  delay,  and  which  whirled 
the  traveller  to  New  York  in  three  days  and  a  half.  An 
advertisement  announcing  the  creation  of  these  unusual 
facilities  was  printed  in  the  Columbian  Sentinel  of  April 
24,  and  read : 

Boston  and  New  York  Stages.  The  subscriber  informs  his  friends 
and  the  public  that  he,  in  company  with  the  other  proprietors  of  the 
old  line  of  stages,  has  established  a  new  line  from  Boston  to  New  York 
for  the  more  rapid  conveyance  of  the  mails.  The  stage  carriages  of  this 
new  line  will  be  small,  genteel  and  easy,  in  which  but  four  inside 
passengers  will  be  admitted,  with  smart,  good  horses,  and  experienced 
and  careful  drivers.  They  will  start  from  Boston  and  New  York  on 
the  first  Monday  in  May,  and  continue  to  run  three  times  a  week  until 
the  first  of  November,  and  will  leave  Boston  every  Monday,  Wednes¬ 
day  and  Friday  at  four  oclock  a.  m.  and  arrive  at  New  York  in  three 
days  and  a  half  from  their  departure.  Tbev  will  leave  New  York  on 
the  same  days  at  one  oclock  P.  M.  .  .  .  The  proprietors  have  been  at 
such  great  expense  to  erect  this  line,  they  hope  their  exertions  will  give 
satisfaction  and  receive  the  public  patronage.” 

For  this  express  service  the  fare  was  four  pence  (eight 

m 


Providence  and  Philadelphia 

Packets. 


mHE  following  vessels  have  commen- 
I  ced  running  as  a  line  of  Packets  be¬ 
tween  the  above  ports  : 

Schr,  Herald,  Ahira  Hall,  master 
Messenger,  Edward  Hall,  do 
Domestick,  David  Hall,  do 
James  Burrill,  Abner  Hall,  do 
All  excellent  vessels,  and  well  com¬ 


manded,  one  of  which  is  expected  to  sail 
every  week  from  this  port.  The  captains 
have  the  privilege  of  acting  as  their  own 
pilots.  For  freight  or  passage  apply  on 
board,  or  to  Royal  Fsarnum. 

May  23.  tf. 


50. — Travel  between  widely  separated  towns  on  the  Atlantic  coast  was  under¬ 
taken  by  water  when  possible.  The  method  was  preferable  to  jolting  over 
the  bad  roads.  Regular  lines  of  sailing  packets  were  established  to  accom¬ 
modate  the  business,  and  even  after  the  general  adoption  of  steamboats 
they  successfully  fought,  for  a  time,  the  competition  of  the  new  mechanical 
vessels.  Advertisement  of  a  packet  line  in  1825. 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


cents)  a  mile,  with  fourteen  pounds  of  baggage  carried 
free. 

Still  another  much  travelled  road  on  which  periodic 
movement  became  important  at  an  early  day,  and  where¬ 
on  an  unusual  condition  prevailed,  was  that  between  Phil¬ 
adelphia  and  Baltimore.  The  early  stage  wagons  along 
this  route  were  the  familiar  vehicles  with  straight  sides 
and  tunnel-shaped  canvas  tops,  and  they  made  the  journey 
in  two  days.  One  line  between  the  two  towns  was  called 
“The  Philadelphia,  Baltimore  and  Eastern  Shore  Line  of 
Post-Coach  Carriages,”  and  in  the  Philadelphia  Inde¬ 
pendent  Gazetteer  of  1788  its  running  schedule  and  rates 
of  fare  for  passengers  were  thus  stated: 


“From  Philadelphia  to  Chester,  15  miles .  £0.  5s.  od. 

“From  Chester  to  Queen  of  France,  7  miles .  £ o .  2s.  6d. 

“Queen  of  France  to  Wilmington,  6  miles .  £0.  2s.  6d. 

“Wilmington  to  Christiana  Bridge,  10  miles .  £0.  3s.  4d. 

“Christiana  Bridge  to  Elk,  12  miles .  £0.  4s.  2d. 

“Elk  to  Susquehanna,  16  miles.  . .  * .  £0.  7s.  6d. 

“Philadelphia  to  Susquehanna,  66  miles .  £1.  5s.  od. 

“Susquehanna  to  Baltimore,  37  miles,  gratis." 


So  the  traveller  paid  about  six  dollars  and  twenty-five 
cents  for  his  passage,  and  bought  his  meals  and  lodging 
besides.  The  uncommon  feature  revealed  in  the  opera¬ 
tion  of  these  wagons  lay  in  the  fact  that  for  a  part  of  the 
distance  they  encountered  the  competition  of  sailboats 
and  other  passenger-carrying  water  craft,  and  for  that  part 
of  their  land  journey  they  charged  no  fare  whatever. 

It  should  not  be  understood  that  any  uniformity  of 
travel  conditions  existed  throughout  the  northern  colonies 
during  the  two  generations  which  witnessed  the  introduc¬ 
tion  and  first  slow  growth  of  periodic  movement  as  an  ele¬ 
ment  of  progress.  The  contrary  was  true.  Local  circum¬ 
stances,  the  weather,  and  the  state  of  the  roads  still  ruled 

190 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


traffic  with  almost  arbitrary  power.  Between  a  few  of  the 
chief  centers  of  population  there  took  place,  from  year  to 
year,  a  slight  and  steady  improvement,  but  elsewhere  the 
former  conditions  still  prevailed  without  much  altera¬ 
tion.  It  was  a  time  of  change,  and  of  contrast  and  contra¬ 
diction.  The  old  order  of  things  was  giving  way  in 
places,  and  the  need  of  betterment  in  methods  of  locomo¬ 
tion  received  a  more  general  recognition.  But  over  a 
large  portion  of  the  territory  then  firmly  in  the  grasp  of 
white  men  the  physical  obstacles  to  travel  were  still  too 
great  for  any  rapid  progress  to  be  made.  The  chronicles 
of  the  time  show  that  occasionally  there  was  even  a  lapse 
in  the  tendency  toward  better  things,  and  a  retrogression. 
In  discussing  traffic  between  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore 
at  as  late  a  date  as  1797  a  publication  of  the  day1  said: 

“The  roads  from  Philadelphia  to  Baltimore  exhibit,  for  the  greater 
part  of  the  way,  an  aspect  of  savage  desolation.  Chasms  to  the  depth  of 
six,  eight,  or  ten  feet  occur  at  numerous  intervals.  A  stage-coach  which 
left  Philadelphia  on  the  5th  of  February,  1796,  took  five  days  to  go  to 
Baltimore.  The  weather  for  the  first  four  days  was  good.  The  roads 
are  in  fearful  condition.  Coaches  are  overturned,  passengers  killed,  and 
horses  destroyed  by  the  overwork  put  upon  them.  In  winter  sometimes 
no  stage  sets  out  for  two  weeks.” 

Such  a  state  of  affairs  as  here  described  portrays,  in 
substance,  the  whole  aspect  of  human  movement  from 
place  to  place  during  the  later  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  The  traveller  never  knew  what  to  expect  or 
what  adventure  he  might  encounter.  Yet  on  the  whole 
advancement  was  apparent,  and  if  the  state  of  the  country 
and  the  absence  of  any  engineering  knowledge  held  the 
people  back,  there  had  nevertheless  been  born  within 
them  an  impatience  that  in  time  was  to  work  the  marvels 
then  unconceived. 


1  “The  American  Annual  Register”  for  1797. 


CHAPTER  XII 


THE  ERA  OF  THE  PACK-TRAIN  —  GENERAL  USE  OF  THAT 
METHOD  OF  TRAVEL  AND  TRANSPORTATION  THROUGH¬ 
OUT  MUCH  OF  THE  COUNTRY  —  OPPOSITION  BY  PACK- 
HORSE  MEN  TO  THE  INTRODUCTION  OF  WHEELED 
VEHICLES  —  CONDITIONS  IN  PENNSYLVANIA  — 
TWENTY  DAYS  TO  PITTSBURGH  —  APPEARANCE  OF 
THE  CONESTOGA  WAGON  —  ITS  LONG-CONTINUED 
IMPORTANCE  —  WINTER  TRAVEL  MOST  POPULAR 


HE  British  authorities  on  one  occasion  reproved  the 


A  colonial  legislature  of  Pennsylvania  for  not  assem¬ 
bling  with  promptitude  at  critical  times,  when  warfare 
threatened,  in  order  that  it  might  take  appropriate  action 
for  the  public  welfare.  In  answer  the  Assembly  pointed 
out  that  the  roads  were  often  so  bad  they  were  impassable 
even  on  horseback,  and  therefore  the  desired  laws  would 
have  to  wait.  What  retort  the  English  made  is  not  of 
record.  It  is  enough  to  know  that  the  explanation  of 
the  Pennsylvanians  was  sufficient,  if  not  satisfactory. 

The  incident  is  a  typical  one.  It  throws  a  light,  with 
official  glare,  on  a  problem  which  came  home  to  every 
early  American.  The  introduction  of  carts  and  wagons 
in  some  sections  of  the  northern  colonies  during  the  early 
part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  the  later  evolution  of 
the  four-wheeled  vehicles  into  stage  wagons,  acted  as  an 
ever-increasing  impetus  toward  the  creation  of  better 
highways.  A  pressing  need  for  such  thoroughfares  was 


192 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


two  dozen  passengers.  The  dining-room  by  day  and  sleeping  quarters  at 
night.  A  contemporary  pencil  sketch.  Probably  about  1830. 

more  than  plain.  Nevertheless  the  roads  did  not  improve. 
During  any  long-continued  period  of  dry  weather  they 
became  easily  passable,  only  to  be  turned  again,  during 
wet  seasons,  into  hopeless  quagmires.  No  radical  better¬ 
ment  was  visible  for  more  than  fifty  years  after  the  stage 
wagons  appeared.1  This  was  due  to  several  reasons. 
There  was  then  no  such  thing  as  a  knowledge  of  the  prop¬ 
er  way  of  road  construction,  nor  was  there  any  organized 
system  put  into  effect  for  the  carrying  out  of  improve¬ 
ments.  The  mutual  jealousies  of  the  colonies  occasionally 
cropped  out  over  such  a  matter  as  the  building  of  a  travel 
highway,  and  now  and  then  it  happened  that  the  proposed 
transformation  of  some  primitive  trail  into  a  better  road 
was  actively  fought  by  that  part  of  the  public  whose  ma- 

1  Nor  was  there  any  such  development  in  ro^d  building,  or  the  creation  of  permanent 
turnpikes  with  hard  surfaces,  until  close  to  the  year  1800. 

193 


A  HISTOPwY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


terial  interests  would  have  suffered  —  at  least  for  a  time 
—  by  the  suggested  action. 

There  really  were  such  people.  They  were  the  men 
who  had  built  up  the  extensive  business  of  pack-horse 
transportation.  An  overwhelming  part  of  the  land  traffic 
of  the  country,  except  on  highways  connecting  the  princi¬ 
pal  cities,  was  carried  on,  between  the  years  1750  and 
1790,  by  that  means.  It  was  an  age  of  pack-horse  travel. 
Pioneers  in  that  sort  of  traffic  were  to  be  found  in  almost 
every  town,  especially  toward  the  outskirts  of  the  occu¬ 
pied  regions,1  and  they  controlled  many  thousands  of 
horses  and  mules  and  employed  large  numbers  of  packers 
and  caravan  drivers.  They  regularly  contracted  to  move 
parties  of  people  over  the  country,  together  with  their 
goods,  and  all  the  freight  business  of  outlying  settlements 
was  carried  on  by  them.  The  narrow  land  trails,  called 
“tote-roads,”  “pack-roads,”  or  “horse-ways”  by  the  pio¬ 
neers,  over  which  frontier  movement  passed  for  a  long 
time,  were  the  foundation  on  which  their  enterprises 
were  built,  and  they  knew  that  so  long  as  those  paths 
remained  unfit  for  vehicles  their  business  would  remain 
secure.  Therefore  they  opposed  the  making  of  wagon 
roads.2 

The  pack-horse  system  of  travel  was  more  important 
and  largely  developed  in  Pennsylvania  than  in  any  other 
colony,  and  even  at  so  late  a  date  as  1783  the  only  way  of 
carrying  goods  from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburgh,  or  of 
journeying  between  the  two  towns,  was  by  that  method. 
In  Pittsburgh  and  other  similarly  inaccessible  places  salt 
was  sold  for  five  or  ten  dollars  a  bushel,  and  iron  was 
worth  from  fifteen  to  twenty-five  cents  a  pound. 

1  Philadelphia  was  one  of  the  chief  centers  for  them. 

2  In  the  history  of  the  development  of  travel  and  transportation  facilities,  every  im¬ 
provement  in  method  of  movement  has  been  opposed  by  those  whose  occupation  denrn''  ’ 
on  the  maintenance  of  the  system  about  to  be  abandoned. 

194 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


A  so-called  wagon  road,  after  it  had  developed  from 
an  Indian  trace  or  white  man’s  tote-path,  was  usually  a 
narrow  winding  trail  across  the  country,  made  of  nothing 
but  the  natural  soil.  The  first  effort  toward  improvement 
of  such  a  highway,  as  displayed  in  many  localities,  con¬ 
sisted  in  placing  a  multitude  of  small  logs  side  by  side 
across  it.  Over  the  logs  was  spread  a  layer  of  dirt  two  or 
three  inches  thick,  and  the  improved  thoroughfare  was 
complete.  It  was  then  a  corduroy  road.  There  was  no 
lack  of  timber  for  the  purpose,  but  the  work  of  cutting 
the  trees  and  placing  them  side  by  side  for  many  miles  was 
so  great  that  not  much  construction  of  the  character  was 
attempted.  No  vehicle  could  sink  into  the  morass  on  a 
trail  thus  altered,  but  the  dirt  surface  was  promptly 
washed  through  the  logs  and  the  jolting  soon  shook  a 
wagon  to  pieces.  The  economic  advantage  of  the  cordu¬ 
roy  system,  as  it  was  at  first  applied,  amounted  to  almost 
nothing.  It  was  as  unpleasant  for  a  man  to  behold  his 
wagon  disintegrate  as  to  abandon  it  in  a  sea  of  mud; 
worse,  in  truth,  for  in  the  latter  case  he  could  come  back 
after  a  month  or  two  and  dig  it  out  again.  Gradually  the 
people  fell  into  a  lethargy  on  the  subject  of  road  improve¬ 
ment — as  far  as  outward  action  was  concerned — and 
for  a  generation  or  more  made  no  effort  to  move  about  on 
extensive  trips  except  during  favorable  weather.  They 
were  also,  during  long  periods,  prevented  by  wars  and 
poverty  from  making  serious  attempts  through  govern¬ 
mental  means  to  improve  their  system  of  travel  and  com¬ 
munication.  From  the  year  1755  to  the  close  of  the  Revo¬ 
lution  the  country  was  in  almost  uninterrupted  military 
turmoil.  The  struggle  between  England  and  France, 
Pontiac’s  War,  the  ceaseless  embroilments  along  the 
frontiers  and  the  contest  with  England  collectively  cov- 

195 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


ered  a  period  of  nearly  thirty  years,  within  which  time 
the  only  important  progress  in  transportation  was  con¬ 
fined  to  a  few  highways  between  the  half-dozen  principal 
towns  of  the  northern  colonies. 

Simultaneously  with  the  general  introduction  of  the 
first  stage-coaches,  however,  two  other  important  features 
of  the  early  national  travel  system  sprang  into  existence, 
and  the  Pennsylvania  colony  witnessed  the  birth  of  each. 
One  of  these  was  the  cutting  of  Braddock’s  Road1  through 
the  wilderness,  and  the  other  was  the  appearance  of  a 
famous  and  indispensable  pioneer  conveyance  known  as 
the  Conestoga  wagon. 

Braddock  could  not  move  his  troops  without  wagons 
to  carry  supplies,  and  he  could  not  use  wagons  without  a 
road.  At  first  he  had  neither.  No  path  possible  for  vehi¬ 
cles  existed  along  the  western  portion  of  his  intended 
route,  and  at  the  order  of  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly  a 
force  of  woodsmen  was  accordingly  got  together  to  widen 
the  existing  trail  by  chopping  down  enough  of  the  forest 
to  permit  the  passage  of  his  transport  train.  Then  Brad- 
dock  called  on  Virginia  and  Maryland  for  wagons,  but 
the  two  colonies  collected  only  twenty-five. 

In  desperation  he  appealed  to  Franklin,  and  that  offi¬ 
cial,  by  means  of  an  elaborate  printed  address  to  the  pub¬ 
lic,  secured  one  hundred  and  fifty  four-wheeled  vehicles 
from  Pennsylvania.2  The  brave  but  misguided  general 
finally  led  his  little  army  away  over  the  new  road,  and  on 
the  disastrous  field  that  bears  his  name  compelled  his 
veteran  troops  to  stand  shoulder  to  shoulder  while  the 

1  The  highway  is  too  well  known  to  require  more  than  brief  mention.  It  followed  an 
earlier  Indian  trail,  and  was  cut  through  the  woods  to  enable  the  British  army  under  Gen¬ 
eral  Braddock  to  pass  over  the  Alleghany  Mountains  and  attack  the  French,  whose  chief 
stronghold  in  the  Ohio  valley  was  Fort  Du  Ouesne. 

2  Franklin  agreed  that  their  owners  should  be  paid  if  the  wagons  were  not  returned. 
They  were  all  lost  in  the  defeat,  and  Franklin  was  appalled  at  the  prospect  of  his  ruin, 
until  the  British  paid  £20,000  for  the  destroyed  equipment  and  horses. 

196 


52. — Many  families  who  lived  on  the  coast,  or  near  bays  or  rivers,  kept  little  covered  boats  for  use  in 
journey  making,  just  as  a  farmer  or  business  man  of  the  twentieth  century  keeps  a  motor-car. 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


Indians,  from  behind  their  trees,  enjoyed  the  human 
battue. 

After  the  war  between  England  and  France  Brad- 
dock’s  Road  became  one  of  the  principal  routes  by  which 
travellers  from  the  northern  and  middle  colonies  ad¬ 
vanced  through  central  and  western  Pennsylvania  to  the 
Alleghany  region,  and  the  pack-horse  train  was  the  only 
method  by  which  they  moved  themselves  and  their  goods 
back  and  forth  between  the  older  towns  and  the  frontier 
posts.  Those  immigrants  who  were  making  the  trip 
toward  the  frontier  for  the  first  time  journeyed  in  large 
groups,  in  the  immemorial  method,  and  also  carried  on 
their  later  intercourse  with  the  coast  region  in  a  somewhat 
similar  way.  During  the  autumn  of  each  year  all  the 
border  inhabitants  within  a  radius  of  ten,  twenty  or 
twenty-five  miles  contributed  their  joint  efforts  to  the 
creation  of  a  pack-train  by  which  they  sent  furs  and  skins 
and  whisky  to  the  eastern  towns  in  exchange  for  such 
necessities  as  they  could  not  themselves  produce.  They 
had  no  money,  and  could  obtain  iron,  salt  and  a  few  other 
commodities  only  in  that  manner. 

In  fact,  the  Whisky  Rebellion  of  1794  was  a  direct 
result  of  this  transportation  problem.  To  carry  bulky 
grain  and  fruit  to  the  eastern  market  was  impracticable, 
so  many  of  the  settlers  converted  their  surplus  of  such 
products  into  whisky  and  brandy.  A  horse  could  carry 
two  kegs  of  eight  gallons  each,  worth  about  fifty  cents  a 
gallon  on  the  western  and  one  dollar  on  the  eastern  side 
of  the  mountains,  and  he  came  back  with  a  little  iron  and 
salt.  The  Federal  excise  tax  of  1791  bore  hard  on  the 
trans-Alleghany  people,  and  those  in  western  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  rose  in  armed  rebellion  but  were  overawed  by  an 
army  sent  into  the  region  by  President  Washington. 

198 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


The  organization  and  progress  of  a  pack-train  is  thus 
described  in  the  work  of  an  early  historian.1 

“In  the  fall  of  the  year,  after  seeding  time,  every  family  formed 
an  association  with  some  of  their  neighbors,  for  starting  the  little 
caravan.  A  master  driver  was  to  be  selected  from  among  them,  who 
was  to  be  assisted  by  one  or  more  young  men  and  sometimes  a  boy  or  two. 
The  horses  were  fitted  out  with  pack-saddles,  to  the  latter  part  of 
which  was  fastened  a  pair  of  hobbles  made  of  hickory  withes, — a  bell  and 
collar2  ornamented  their  necks.  The  bags  provided  for  the  conveyance 
of  the  salt  were  filled  with  feed  for  the  horses;  on  the  journey  a  part 
of  this  feed  was  left  at  convenient  stages  on  the  way  down,  to  support 
the  return  of  the  caravan.  Large  wallets  well  filled  with  bread,  jerk,3 
boiled  ham,  and  cheese  furnished  a  provision  for  the  drivers.  At  night, 
after  feeding,  the  horses,  whether  put  in  pasture  or  turned  out  into  the 
woods,  were  hobbled  and  the  bells  were  opened.  The  barter  for  salt 
and  iron  was  made  first  at  Baltimore;  Frederick,  Hagerstown,  Oldtown, 
and  Fort  Cumberland,  in  succession,  became  the  places  of  exchange. 
Each  horse  carried  two  bushels  of  alum  salt,  weighing  eighty-four 
pounds  to  the  bushel.  This,  to  be  sure,  was  not  a  heavy  load  for  the 
horses,  but  it  was  enough,  considering  the  scanty  subsistence  allowed 
them  on  the  journey.  The  common  price  of  a  bushel  of  alum  salt, 
at  an  early  period  was  a  good  cow  and  a  calf.” 

The  appearance  that  such  a  cavalcade  presented  while 
on  its  march  and  the  nature  of  the  travel  route  over  which 
it  proceeded  were  told  by  another  writer  of  earlier  times,4 
who  said: 

“The  whole  amount  of  hide  and  peltries,  ginseng,  snake-root, 
and  bears  grease5  were  exchanged  or  bartered  for  salt,  nails,  and  other 
articles  of  iron,  and  occasionally  for  a  few  pewter  plates  and  dishes 
for  the  table.  The  bartering  for  the  settlement  being  finished,  the  cara¬ 
van  was  ready  for  its  retrograde  march.  .  .  .  The  caravan  route  from 
the  Ohio  River  to  Frederick  crossed  the  stupendous  ranges  of  the 
Allegheny  mountains  as  they  rise,  mountain  behind  mountain,  in  the 
distant  prospect.  .  .  .  The  path,  scarcely  two  feet  wide,  and  traveled 
hy  horses  in  single  file,  roamed  over  hill  and  dale,  through  mountain 
defile,  over  craggy  steeps,  beneath  impending  rocks,  and  around  points 
of  dizzy  heights,  where  one  false  step  might  hurl  horse  and  rider  into 
the  abyss  below.  To  prevent  such  accidents,  the  bulky  baggage  was 

1  Doddridge’s  “Notes  on  the  Settlements  and  Indian  Wars”:  chap.  13. 

2  The  horse  collar  was  often  made  of  woven  corn  husks. 

3  Smoked  venison  or  bear  meat. 

4  Monette:  “History  of  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi”:  Vol.  ii,  p.  14. 

6  An  early  family  remedy  highly  esteemed. 

199 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


removed  in  passing  the  dangerous  defiles,  to  secure  the  horse  from 
being  thrown  from  his  scanty  foothold.  This  route,  selected  by  experi¬ 
enced  woodsmen,  differed  but  little  from  that  selected  for  turnpikes  and 
railroads  by  professed  engineers  at  a  much  later  day.  .  .  .  The  horses, 
with  their  packs,  were  marched  along  in  single  file,  the  foremost  led  by 
the  leader  of  the  caravan,  while  each  successive  horse  was  tethered  to  the 
pack-saddle  of  the  horse  before  him.  A  driver  followed  behind,  to  keep 
an  eye  upon  the  proper  adjustment  of  the  packs,  and  to  urge  on  any 
horse  that  was  disposed  to  lag.  In  this  way  two  men  could  manage  a 
caravan  of  ten  or  fifteen  horses.  .  .  .  When  night  came,  a  temporary 
camp  and  a  camp-fire  protected  the  weary  travels.” 

Those  who  were  going  into  the  newly  settled  country 
for  the  first  time  joined  an  experienced  caravan  whenever 
possible.  Twenty  days  or  more,  according  to  the  state  of 
the  weather  and  trail,  were  required  to  pass  over  Brad- 
dock’s  Road  by  pack-train  from  the  Atlantic  coast  to  the 
head  waters  of  the  Ohio.  The  extent  to  which  pack-trains 
were  relied  on  as  the  one  method  of  travel  and  transporta¬ 
tion  throughout  many  parts  of  the  colonies  as  recently  as 
the  last  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  the  causes 
that  led  professional  pack-men  to  oppose  the  building  of 
roads  for  wheeled  vehicles,  were  referred  to  by  a  third 
writer  who  long  ago  discussed  the  period  in  question.1 
He  wrote: 

“Sixty  or  seventy  years  ago2  five  hundred  pack-horses  had  been  at  one 
time  in  Carlisle,  going  thence  to  Shippensburg,  Fort  Loudon  and 
further  westward.  .  .  .  The  pack-horses  used  to  carry  bars  of  iron  on 
their  backs;  crooked  over  and  around  their  bodies;  barrels  or  kegs  were 
hung  on  each  side  of  these.  Colonel  Snyder,  of  Chambersburg,  in  a 
conversation  with  the  writer  in  August,  1845,  said  that  he  cleared  many 
a  day  from  $6  to  $8  in  crooking  or  bending  iron  and  shoeing  horses 
for  western  carriers  at  the  time  he  was  carrying  on  a  blacksmith  shop 
in  the  town  of  Chambersburg.  .  .  .  When  the  bridle  path  passed  along 
declivities  or  over  hills,  the  path  was  in  some  places  washed  out  so 
deep  that  the  packs  or  burdens  came  in  contact  with  the  ground  or 
other  impending  obstacles,  and  were  frequently  displaced.  .  .  .  When 
wagons  were  first  introduced,  the  carriers  considered  that  mode  of 

1  Rupp:  “The  History  and  Topography  of  Dauphin  .  .  .  [and]  Cumberland 

Counties  [Pa.]”:  pp.  376-377. 

2  The  words  were  written  in  1848. 


200 


.. 

A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


53. — A  Conestoga  wagon.  The  frigate  of  early  overland  travel  and  transpor¬ 
tation  in  America.  First  appearing  in  Pennsylvania  about  the  middle  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  it  survived  until  the  California  rush  a  hundred 
years  afterward. 

transportation  an  invasion  of  their  rights;  their  indignation  was  more 
excited  and  they  manifested  greater  rancor  than  did  the  regular  teamsters’ 
when  the  line  of  single  teams  was  started  some  thirty  years  ago.” 

So,  while  the  roads  leading  out  from  Boston,  Provi¬ 
dence,  New  York,  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  were  wit¬ 
nessing  the  first  introduction  and  early  rivalries  of  the 
stage  wagons  and  Flying  Machines,  the  remainder  of  the 
northern  and  middle  section  was  still  dependent  on  the 
pole-boat,  saddle-horse  and  pack-train. 

The  second  important  development  witnessed  in 
Pennsylvania  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century 
—  the  first  use  of  the  Conestoga  wagon  —  became  notice¬ 
able  during  the  decade  between  1750  and  1760.  The  pe¬ 
culiar  type  of  pioneer  vehicle  thus  evolved  remained  in 
persistent  use  during  all  advance  movements  of  the  popu¬ 
lation  for  about  a  century.  As  the  frontier  inhabited  by 

1  These  teamsters  were  the  drivers  of  four  and  six-horse  Conestoga  wagons,  which 
had  followed  pack-trains,  and  that  were  in  turn  succeeded  by  the  two-horse  vehicles  here 
mentioned,  as  the  dirt  roads  were  changed  to  turnpikes  covered  with  gravel  or  broken 
stone. 


201 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


white  men  was  steadily  pushed  toward  the  west  for  gen- 
eration  after  generation  the  Conestoga  wagon  was  always 
in  the  van  of  travel  progress^  always  years  ahead  of  the 
stage-coach,  the  steamboat,  canal  and  railroad.  The  ruts 
that  were  dug  deep  into  the  soil  by  its  wide  and  ponderous 
wheels  were  the  marks  that  guided  all  other  vehicle 
movement  by  land.  Its  career  as  one  of  the  agencies  by 
which  white  men  conquered  the  continent  came  to  a  fitting 
end  in  the  period  between  1848  and  1869,  when  by  its  use 
the  final  migration  across  the  western  plains  was  accom¬ 
plished,  and  there  was  no  longer  any  West  to  which  it 
might  continue. 

The  travel  conditions  which  confronted  the  early  in¬ 
habitants  of  Pennsylvania  were  in  several  respects  dif¬ 
ferent  from  those  faced  by  the  other  colonists.  There  was 
no  considerable  seacoast  that  permitted  movement  from 
one  part  of  the  commonwealth  to  another  by  means  of  sail¬ 
boats,  the  interior  was  not  sprinkled  by  lakes  or  traversed 
by  many  rivers  of  the  placid  and  navigable  type  found  in 
other  parts  of  the  country,  and  much  of  the  colony’s  ex¬ 
tent  was  rough  or  mountainous.  Necessity  forced  its  peo¬ 
ple  to  resort  to  land  travel  for  journeys  of  consequence, 
and  to  that  circumstance  was  due  the  widespread  use  of 
the  pack-train  within  its  limits,  and  its  early  efforts  to 
solve  the  problems  of  the  roads.  To  necessity  can  also  be 
attributed  the  creation  of  the  Conestoga  wagon,  which, 
though  at  first  evolved  to  fit  conditions  in  the  neighbor¬ 
hood  of  its  origin,  was  speedily  adopted,  with  slight  modi¬ 
fications,  for  all  long  overland  migrations  and  heavy 
traffic  throughout  the  country. 

The  precise  reason  for  the  name  of  the  vehicle  is  un¬ 
certain.  A  breed  of  very  heavy  horses  had  already  been 
developed  in  the  valley  of  the  Conestoga,  and  had  corn- 

202 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


54. — An  overland  wagon  of  the  Conestoga  type  approaching  Baltimore.  On 
busy  roads  such  vehicles  were  frequently  seen  in  trains 
half  a  mile  or  more  in  length. 

manded  wide  notice.  Probably  the  wagon  was  first  built 
in  the  same  region,1  or  else  acquired  its  name  from  the 
type  of  horse  with  which  it  was  no  doubt  associated  in  its 
earliest  days.  A  Conestoga  wagon  was  a  huge  affair,  very 
heavily  built,  with  a  bed  higher  at  each  end  than  in  the 
middle,  and  topped  by  a  dull-white  cloth  cover  which 
had  a  similar  curve  of  still  more  pronounced  degree.  The 
wagon  bed  was  constructed  in  concave  shape  in  order 
that  its  contents  might  not  spill  out  when  it  was  going  up 
or  down  hill.  Still  another  distinguishing  characteristic 
of  the  conveyance  was  its  color.  The  underbody  was  al¬ 
ways  painted  blue,  and  the  upper  woodwork  was  invaria¬ 
bly  bright  red.  This  chromatic  scheme  was  as  inevitable 


1  Lancaster  county 


203 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


for  every  Conestoga  wagon  as  though  it  had  been  pre¬ 
scribed  by  law  with  a  penalty  for  refusal  so  to  decorate.1 

No  sooner  was  a  road  made  fit  for  vehicles  than  the 
Conestoga  wagon  appeared  upon  it,  sometimes  in  solitary 
grandeur  as  its  owner  and  his  family  and  household  goods 
moved  slowly  over  hill  and  valley  toward  a  new  home  to 
the  westward;  sometimes  in  immense  and  brilliant  cara¬ 
vans  that  stretched  for  miles  along  the  highway.  There 
was  a  majesty  in  their  slow  progress.  The  rumble  of 
their  enormous  wheels  as  they  lurched  onward  behind 
horses  caparisoned  with  almost  barbaric  splendor,  the 
creaking  of  harness  and  their  swaying  tops  conveyed  to 
the  beholder  a  sense  of  power.  They  told  of  an  advance 
that  would  know  no  retrogression.  They  were  the  frig¬ 
ates  of  the  land.  A  description  of  such  famous  and  dis¬ 
tinctively  American  vehicles  at  the  height  of  their  popu¬ 
larity  and  usefulness,2  as  set  forth  by  an  authority  on  the 
subject,  is  given  in  the  following  passage  :3 

“The  capacious  wagons  which  the  Conestoga  farmers  then  had  in 
use,”  said  the  narrator,  “were  the  best  means  of  land  transportation 
which  the  times  and  circumstances  of  the  country  then  afforded.  These 
wagons  and  teams  attracted  attention  and  commanded  admiration 
wherever  they  appeared ;  and  hence  the  origin,  as  I  conceive,  of  the 
horse  and  wagon  to  which  the  appellation  of  ‘Conestoga’  has  been  at¬ 
tached.  .  .  .  The  harness  was  constructed  of  the  best  materials,  with 
an  eye  to  show  as  well  as  utility.  In  the  harness  and  trimmings  of  these 
teams  the  owners  frequently  indulged  in  expenses  that  approached  to 
extravagance.  ...  It  was,  indeed,  an  animating  sight  to  see  five  or  six 
highly  fed  horses,  half  covered  with  heavy  bear  skins,  or  decorated 
with  gaudily  fringed  housings,  surmounted  with  a  set  of  finely  toned 
bells,  their  bridles  adorned  with  loops  of  red  trimming  ...  as  if  half 
conscious  of  their  superior  appearance,  and  participating  in  the  pride 
that  swelled  the  bosom  of  their  master.” 

In  the  course  of  time  tens  of  thousands  of  Conestoga 

1  The  gaudy  painting  of  the  Conestoga  wagon  was  another  manifestation  of  the  ten¬ 
dency  of  the  time  toward  bright  color  and  vivid  decoration. 

2  About  1800  to  1815. 

3  The  quotation  is  from  John  Strohm’s  account  in  the  United  States  Agricultural 
Report  for  1863:  p.  178. 

204 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


wagons1  rumbled  over  all  the  main  roads  of  the  country, 
serving  the  emigrant,  the  traveller  whose  time  did  not  de¬ 
mand  the  express  speed  of  a  stage-coach,  and  conveying  a 
large  part  of  the  freight  that  moved  between  cities  not 
connected  by  water.  The  driver  of  a  Conestoga  rode  on 
a  wheel  horse,  and  he  and  those  with  him  carried  their 
own  bedding,  which  they  spread  out  on  the  floor  of  the 
public  room  in  the  tavern  where  they  halted  for  the  night. 

The  slow  progress  that  the  country  was  making  in  its 
use  of  private  travel  vehicles  during  the  early  years  of 
periodic  transportation  is  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  in 
the  year  1761  there  were  but  thirty-eight  wheeled  con¬ 
veyances  in  Philadelphia.  Their  several  types  and  num¬ 
bers  were:  three  coaches,  fifteen  chaises,  eighteen  chariots 
and  two  landaus.  By  1772  the  people  of  the  town  owned 
eighty-four  vehicles,  and  in  1794  they  had  eight  hundred 
and  twenty-seven.  There  were  twenty-two  privately 
owned  wheeled  vehicles  in  Boston  in  1768,  and  145  like 
equipages  in  1798.  Similar  figures  for  other  communities 
do  not  appear,  but  the  advancement  of  various  important 
cities  in  the  respect  indicated  was  doubtless  substantially 
parallel  with  the  cases  cited. 

Throughout  the  eighteenth  century,  as  well  as  in  the 
seventeenth,  the  winter  season  continued  to  be  a  favorite 
time  for  travel.  The  scarcity  of  wheeled  wagons  of  vari¬ 
ous  sorts  was  not  reflected  in  the  use  and  popularity  of 
sleds.  Every  family  had  one  or  more  of  them,  and  the 
discomforts  due  to  cold  weather  and  biting  gales  were 
much  preferred  to  the  troubles  that  attended  a  journey  at 
any  other  time.  In  thickly  settled  parts  of  the  country, 
during  the  frost  months,  a  wayfarer  in  a  sleigh  was  rarely 

1  Those  that  travelled  between  the  East  and  Pittsburgh  were  often  called  “Pitt  Teams,” 
though  they  were  identical  with  the  Conestoga. 

205 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


out  of  sight  of  equipages  similar  to  his  own.  Many  hun¬ 
dred  horse-drawn  sleds  were  to  be  seen  in  the  streets  of 
any  town  on  a  clear  winter  day,1  and  long-extended  travel 
was  undertaken  in  them.2  A  large  proportion  of  the 
snow  craft  were  home-made,  box-like  affairs,  but  like 
everything  else  of  the  period  to  which  paint  would  cling 
they  were  highly  seasoned  with  all  the  essences  of  the 
rainbow. 

1  Henry’s  “History  of  the  Lehigh  Valley”  (Pa.)  says  five  hundred  sleds  were  either 
standing  in  the  streets  of  Easton  or  passing  through  them  at  one  time. 

2  Daniel  Webster  sometimes  went  between  his  New  Hampshire  home  and  Boston  in  a 
sleigh. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


EARLY  TAVERNS  —  THEIR  RELATION  TO  TRAVEL  AND  PUBLIC 
AFFAIRS  —  RATES  FIXED  BY  LAW  —  CONSTABLES 
WATCHED  TRAVELLERS  CLOSELY  —  HOW  THE  SLEEP¬ 
ING  PROBLEM  WAS  SOMETIMES  SOLVED  —  A  TAVERN 
DINNER  TABLE  EQUIPPED  TO  SATISFY  HUNGER  RATHER 
THAN  FOR  ARTISTIC  DISPLAY  —  LAWS  REGULATING 
RETAIL  CHARGES  FOR  FOOD  —  UNIVERSAL  HOSPI¬ 
TALITY  OF  THE  SOUTH  —  FIRST  TRAVEL  TO  INTERIOR 
NEW  YORK  —  EFFECT  OF  THE  REVOLUTION  ON  THE 
MENTAL  CONDITION  OF  THE  PEOPLE 

THERE  was  one  feature  of  primitive  travel  in 
America  which,  though  not  in  itself  a  method  of 
locomotion,  was  nevertheless  so  intimately  related  to  the 
movements  of  travellers  and  to  all  public  affairs  as  to 
require  attention  in  a  study  of  early  conditions.  That 
phase  of  the  subject  was  the  little  tavern,  or  inn,  destined 
at  last  to  develop  into  a  palace  beneath  whose  roof  the 
exacting  demands  of  a  thousand  guests  are  supplied  by 
an  army  of  servants.  The  evolution  of  the  public  house 
has  kept  pace  for  nearly  three  hundred  years  with  the 
changing  system  whereby  the  pilgrim  has  reached  its 
doors,  and  in  size,  methods  and  conveniences  it  has  con¬ 
sistently  reflected  the  manner  in  which  the  traveller  has 
pursued  his  actual  journey. 

By  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  tavern 
had  reached  a  position  of  consequence  in  the  national  life, 

207 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


and  from  that  period  until  about  the  year  1830  its  im¬ 
portance  steadily  increased  both  as  a  factor  in  the  affairs 
of  the  people  and  as  an  essential  element  to  be  considered 
in  the  making  of  any  journey.  Conditions  coming  into 
being  at  that  time  gradually  altered  the  status  of  the  tavern 
in  its  relation  to  the  public,  and  afterward,  though  in¬ 
creasing  in  bulk  and  magnificence,  the  inn  lost  much  of 
its  former  influence.  It  has  now  come  to  be  taken  as  a 
matter-of-fact  incident;  as  an  institution  whose  chief  char¬ 
acteristics  can  be  anticipated  and  depended  on  by  those 
who  have  need  of  it.  The  modern  hotel  has  been  stand¬ 
ardized  and  reduced  to  an  automatic  machine  of  enter¬ 
tainment.  This  was  not  true  in  the  early  times,  for  then 
the  inn  possessed  nothing  of  system  but  revealed,  instead, 
the  character  of  its  proprietor.  If  the  host  possessed  a 
marked  individuality,  either  congenial  or  unpleasant,  so 
also  did  his  hostelry.  To-day  there  is  no  host,  in  the  old 
sense;  only  a  staff  of  trained  experts  in  each  of  a  dozen 
departments,  who  by  invisible  methods  minister  to  the 
population  that  drifts  through  a  maze  of  endless  corridors 
and  lofty  halls.  The  early  tavern  has  become  a  big  de¬ 
partment  store  for  the  sale  of  sleep,  food  and  drink. 

Public  inns  came  into  existence  almost  as  soon  as  the 
English  speaking  race  secured  a  permanent  foothold  in 
the  northern  colonies.  The  earliest  known  establishment 
of  the  kind  was  licensed  by  the  General  Court  of  Massa¬ 
chusetts  in  1634,1  and  from  that  time  they  multiplied 
amazingly.  By  the  year  1675  Cotton  Mather  declared 
that  every  other  house  in  Boston  was  a  tavern,  though  his 
assertion  was  of  course  an  exaggeration.  He  objected  to 
the  smoking  and  drinking  that  prevailed  in  the  houses  of 
public  entertainment. 

1  Drake’s  “Old  Boston  Taverns”:  p.  19. 

208 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


All  places  of  the  sort  were  from  the  first  regulated  by 
strict  laws  passed  for  the  purpose.  Even  the  prices  they 
might  charge  were  named  by  the  authorities.  In  1634 
the  cost  of  a  meal  at  a  Boston  inn  was  fixed  at  sixpence, 
and  the  Court  declared  that  a  patron  must  pay  no  more 
than  one  penny  for  a  quart  of  beer.1  Should  an  innkeeper 
demand  more  than  the  legal  rate  for  food  and  drink  he 


55. — Fraunce’s  Tavern,  a  popular  pre-Revolutionary  inn  of  New  York  City.  In 
the  assembly  room,  occupying  the  second  story,  Washington  took  farewell 
of  his  generals.  The  building  still  remains.  This  and  the  following 
eight  illustrations  suggest  the  accommodations  available  to  early  travellers 
in  the  East. 


was  to  be  arrested  and  fined.  Another  Massachusetts  law 
also  provided  that  no  private  individual  might  take  a 
stranger  into  his  home  without  giving  surety  for  the  good 
conduct  of  the  newcomer.  The  particular  statute  in  ques- 


1  Similar  regulations  passed  by  the  New  York  Common  Council  in  1675  fixed  the 
price  of  tavern  lodging  at  threepence,  and  the  charge  for  a  meal  at  eightpence. 

A  usual  price  for  tavern  accommodations  throughout  the  colonies  from  1700  until 
about  the  time  of  the  Revolution  was  three  shillings  a  day.  For  this  sum  the  traveller 
got  his  lodgings,  a  fire,  if  necessary,  three  meals  and  beer  between-times. 

209 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


tion  was  passed  in  order  that  all  travellers  might  be  forced 
to  sojourn  at  public  taverns,  where  their  actions  could  be 
kept  more  easily  under  the  close  gaze  of  town  officials. 
A  bailiff  always  watched  the  guests  of  an- ordinary,1  and 
if  a  stranger  behaved  in  a  way  considered  by  the  repre¬ 
sentative  of  the  law  to  be  unseemly,  he  was  admonished. 
The  constable  even  regulated  the  amount  of  liquor  which 
the  traveller  might  consume.  If  he  thought  the  guest 
was  passing  proper  bounds  he  would  appear  at  the 
stranger’s  elbow  and  carefully  pour  out  the  libation  him¬ 
self. 

Drinking,  however,  was  not  frowned  upon.2  Ale, 
beer  and  spiced  cider  were  the  principal  potions,  and 
almost  every  one  consumed  those  beverages  in  quantities. 
A  landlord  was  subject  to  penalty  if  he  did  not  permit 
his  guest  to  drink  all  that  could  legally  be  consumed  on 
the  premises,  provided  the  man  appeared  able  to  take 
the  amount  without  unpleasant  consequences,  and  the 
bailiff  had  no  objection.  Excessive  drinking  was  pre¬ 
vented  or  penalized  by  methods  common  to  all  times  and 
countries,  and  by  a  few  expedients  peculiar  to  America 
only.3 

Vastly  different  was  the  attitude  of  the  authorities  to¬ 
ward  the  use  of  tobacco,  either  in  taverns  or  anywhere 
else.  According  to  early  New  England  laws  smoking  in 
public  was  an  offense  of  grave  character,  and  was  for¬ 
bidden.4  One  of  the  first  Massachusetts  pronouncements 
against  smoking  in  taverns  read:  “Nor  shall  any  take 

1 A  public  house  was  also  called  an  ordinary. 

2  It  was  even  customary  for  the  people  to  drink  as  a  part  of  the  celebration  attending 
the  building  of  a  church  or  the  ordination  of  a  clergyman. 

s  According  to  a  law  of  1676,  whenever  an  Indian  was  found  drunk  in  New  York  the 
tavern  keeper  responsible  for  his  condition  was  fined.  But  if  it  could  not  be  discovered  in 
what  house  he  drank  his  liquor,  then  every  white  man  on  the  whole  street  was  subject 
to  fine. 

4  “Men  are  now  living  who  have  been  asked  to  plead  ‘guilty’  or  ‘not  guilty’  at  the  ba*- 
of  a  police  court  for  smoking  in  the  streets  of  Boston.” — Drake’s  “Old  Boston  Taverns,”1 

p.  16. 


210 


56.— The  Notch  House,  a  noted  tavern  of  the  White  Mountains,  in  New  Hampshire..  Typical  of  the 
good  early  hostelries  of  New  England  country  regions.  The  washing  pump  is  at  the 
corner  of  the  building  and  the  dinner  bell  is  mounted  on  the.  roof. 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


tobacco  in  any  wine  or  common  victual  house,  except  in 
a  private  room  there,  so  as  the  master  of  said  house  nor 
any  guest  there  shall  take  offense  thereat;  which,  if  any 
do,  then  such  person  shall  forbear  upon  pain  of  two 
shillings  sixpence  for  every  such  offense.”  Nevertheless 
the  men  of  New  England  continued  to  smoke  with  ever 
increasing  vigor,  and  in  the  course  of  about  a  hundred  and 
sixty  years  the  legal  warfare  against  tobacco  was  aban¬ 
doned  in  the  North.1 

All  early  American  inns  for  the  accommodation  of 
wayfarers  were  copied,  in  their  usages  and  character, 
from  the  English  institution  of  like  nature,  and,  as  in 
the  parent  country,  they  gradually  became  the  chief  cen¬ 
ters  of  the  life  and  news  of  the  communities  in  which 
they  were  situated.  They  were  also  the  most  prominent 
landmarks  of  any  journey,  and  it  thus  became  the  uni¬ 
versal  custom  for  travellers  and  business  men  to  compute 
all  distances  from  them,  instead  of  from  one  town  to  an¬ 
other.  In  those  days  of  few  newspapers  and  fewer  mails 
the  arrival  at  a  tavern  of  two  or  three  strangers  from 
some  distant  city  was  an  event  of  real  importance  to  the 
inhabitants.  No  sooner  did  the  news  of  their  presence 
get  abroad  than  many  of  the  principal  men  of  the  place 
gathered  at  the  hostelry  to  welcome  the  pilgrims,  ask 
questions  of  them,  and  listen  to  the  tales  they  had  brought 
from  the  outside  world.  Chiefly  in  that  way  did  the  do¬ 
ings  of  other  regions  sift  through  many  parts  of  the 
country.  From  those  gatherings  at  the  taverns  grew  local 
clubs  and  societies  that  often  took  organized  action  in 
relation  to  business  affairs,  and  eventually  became  the  first 

1  Drake  says  that  on  one  occasion,  late  in  the  eighteenth  century,  two  travelling  Dutch¬ 
men  from  New  York  who  were  walking  about  Boston  in  search  for  lodgings  wandered 
into  Harvard  College  by  mistake.  On  getting  inside  they  found  the  tobacco  smoke  so 
thick  that  one  of  them  said,  “This  is  certain  a  tavern.”  “Old  Boston  Taverns,”  p.  15. 

212 


W 


r- 


t 


*  ‘  ■ 

t'  '  ' 

t..; 

t . 

p*i(# 

N; 

a-'.  . 


>mr  j'  - 

- 


A  NEW-HAMPSHIUE  TAVERN, 

SOME  yedrs  ago,  his  Hozinante  striding 

A  gentleman  was  in  New-IIampshire  riding^BP 
Far  to  the  north — He’d  travelled  many  a  league, 

One  day ;  and  now  with  hunger,  thirst,  fatigue, 

«•  Almost  overcome,  with  most  rejoicing  eyes 
A  tavern  sign  he  at  a  distance  spies  : 

Approaching,  on  the  sign  these  words  appear  : 

**  For  man  &  beast  best  entertainment  here,” 
Dismounting  for  the  hostler  now  he  calls. 

But  for  the  n  ostler  all  in  vain  he  balls, 

He  opes  the  door  :  that  sees  with  graces  winning, 

The  landlady  and  daughter  Bets  a  spinning  _ 

Humming  away  at  most  enormous  rate. 

This  on  the  little  wheel,  that  on  the  great,  ' 

*  Where  is  the  landlord  r’— e  He  is  gone  away 
Clear  down  the  lot  with  Joe,  a  mowing  hay ’ 

Grass,  madam — have  you  oats  ?— -*  No,  none  at  all 
My  husband  sold  the  whole  last  fall 
To  find  the  house  in  liquors* — Corn,  ma’am  pray  P 
*  The  last  half  bushel  went  to  mill  to  day’ 

*  Then  you  have  meal  P — *  Not  any  ;  you  know.  Bets, 
All  we’ve  not  baked  has  gone  to  pay  our  debts. 

Let  down  them  bars ;  take  out  your  bits,  your  horse 
"Will  find  as  good  feed,. sir,  as  ever  worz,  (was.) 

This  done,  the  traveler  to  the  house  returned, 

’And  to  allay  his  thirst  impatient  burned, 

’  ‘1*11  thank  you  madam,  for  a  glass  of  gin 
And  water* — ‘  Sir,  there’s  not  a*drop  within’ 

•Some  brandy,  then.’ — •  Sir,  we  have  none  at  all ; 

For  here,  for  brandy  people  never  call.’ 

‘  A  glass  then  of  W est  India.’ — ‘  sir  we’ve  none,*  * 

‘  Well  then  New  England/ — All  our  rum  is  gone.’ 

4  Have  you  some  cider,  or  some  beer  that’s  good  V 
•  Our  cider’s  out — we  have  not  lately  brewed.* 

*  I’m  very  thirsty  ;  pray  some  water  bring’ — 

4  Bets  take  the  gourd,  and  fetch  some  from  the  spring.4* 
Beta  went— returned — •  Mother,  th’  old  sow,  oh  lud. 

Has  made  the  water  all  as  thick  as  mud. 

By  Vail’ wing  in  the  spri ng.’ — The  traveler  now 
De’nands  ;  ‘  What  keep  you  but  yourselves  and  sow  ?*  ' 
*  Keep,*  says  the  woman,  feeling  anger’s  spqr 
•  What  do  we  keep  ?  why  we— keep  Tavern,  &V 


■j. 


:>v  -} 

f  l 


57. — A  poem  written  by  a  traveller  describing  accommodations  found  by  him 
at  a  New  Hampshire  inn  of  less  excellence.  Published  by  A.  Allen, 
of  Hartford,  in  his  “New  England  Almanack  for  1821.” 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


merchants’  exchanges  and  chambers  of  commerce  in 
America.  Many  of  the  early  merchants’  exchanges,  in 
fact,  held  their  regular  meetings  in  taverns,  and  in  some 
instances  the  courts  and  legislatures  did  likewise.  When¬ 
ever  a  mass  meeting  was  to  be  held  the  public  was  directed 
to  assemble  in  front  of,  or  within,  some  prominent  hos¬ 
telry.  Legal  notices  and  governmental  proclamations 
were  fastened  to  the  fronts  of  inns,  and  political  caucuses 
assembled  in  those  establishments,1  where  the  leaders  of 
public  opinion  always  took  up  their  headquarters  during  a 
time  of  unrest.  Jefferson  wrote  the  Declaration  of  Inde¬ 
pendence  in  a  tavern2  and  discussed  it  there  with  his  fellow 
revolutionists. 

The  main  feature  of  any  early  tavern  was  a  large  pub¬ 
lic  assembly  room  containing  chairs  and  tables  and  with 
an  immense  open  fireplace  on  one  side.  Opening  from 
this  apartment  was  the  dining-room,  and  beyond  it,  the 
kitchen.  The  guest  rooms  were  usually  above.  The  stock 
of  liquors  was  kept  in  barrels,  jugs  and  bottles  in  the  pub¬ 
lic  room,  behind  a  partition  or  counter.  For  nearly  a  cen¬ 
tury  and  a  half  the  tavern  stables  contained  no  provision 
for  the  accommodation  of  vehicles.  Only  travellers  on 
horseback  or  on  foot  were  expected,  and  many  of  these 
carried  their  own  blankets  on  their  backs.  When  a  wav- 

•j 

farer  came  to  an  inn  and  found  the  beds  all  in  use  his 
serenity  of  mind  was  quite  undisturbed.  The  landlord 
considered  it  to  be  his  duty  to  give  shelter  to  all  who 
opened  his  door,  and  did  so.  After  the  normal  capacity 

1  During  the  political  agitation  that  preceded  the  Revolution  the  "Green  Dragon,”  in 
Boston,  was  the  headquarters  of  the  Whig,  or  American  party.  There  Hancock,  the 
Adamses,  Warren,  Revere,  Putnam  and  others  gathered  to  discuss  the  troubles  of  the 
■colonies. 

In  the  "Bunch  of  Grapes,”  another  Boston  inn,  the  Ohio  Company  was  organized  by 
Rufus  Putnam  and  his  friends,  and  in  that  way  the  tavern  played  a  part  in  the  movement 
toward  the  West  that  eventually  led  to  the  permanent  settlement  of  Ohio. 

Franklin  and  his  cronies  gathered  nightly  in  the  "Indian  King”  tavern  of  Philadel¬ 
phia,  to  discuss  publ’c  affairs. 

3  The  “Indian  Queen,”  in  Philadelphia,  where  he  was  lodging  at  the  time. 

214 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


58. — The  Raleigh  Tavern.  A  southern  inn  of  the  best  sort  during  the  last  half 

of  the  eighteenth  century. 


of  the  tavern  was  exhausted  any  additional  arrivals  were 
informed  of  the  fact  and  knew  what  to  do  without  further 
comment.  At  bed  time  they  simply  spread  their  blankets 
on  the  floor  of  the  public  room,  lay  down  with  their  feet 
toward  the  fire  and  rolled  themselves  up  like  a  row  of 
human  cocoons.  Often  the  assembly  room  was  so  crowded 
with  the  forms  of  weary  men  that  a  very  late  comer  had 
to  explore  by  candle-light  and  careful  steps  in  order  to 
find  space  for  himself.  In  the  morning  the  guests  un¬ 
rolled,  and  arose  full  clad  for  another  day  upon  the  road. 
They  made  their  ablutions,  amid  fearful  splutterings,  at 
the  watering  trough  or  a  wooden  tub  outside,  and  passed 
the  towel  around  with  courtesy. 

Then  came  the  breakfast  ceremonial.  The  host 
marched  to  the  front  door,  lifted  a  cow’s  horn  to  his  lips 
and  sent  forth  the  resounding  blast  that  summoned  all 

215 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


hands  to  the  table.  Some  landlords  preferred  a  big  bell 
rather  than  a  horn,  and  filled  the  air  with  a  clangor  heard 
for  a  mile  around.  A  meal  at  one  of  the  early  taverns  was 
nearly  always  a  bountiful  repast,  and  usually  ended, 
whether  at  breakfast,  dinner  or  supper,  with  two  or  more 
kinds  of  pie.  Everything  was  put  on  the  big  table  at  once, 
and  everybody  ate  until  he  reluctantly  made  up  his  mind 
to  stop.  In  those  days  a  meal  meant  all  a  man  wanted  to 
eat.  The  price  remained  the  same.  A  slice  of  bread  was 
visible  even  when  the  edge  of  it  was  held  toward  the  eye, 
the  butter  could  be  safely  attributed  to  the  cow,  and  a 
third  cup  of  tea  or  glass  of  milk  was  as  smilingly  produced, 
if  called  for,  as  was  the  first.  In  short,  the  deplorable  defi¬ 
ciency  in  varieties  of  knives  and  forks,  and  in  different 
species  of  spoons  —  as  measured  by  modern  requirements 
—  was  made  up  by  a  plentitude  of  things  that  could  be 
eaten  instead  of  looked  at.  The  tavern  dinner-table  of 
early  days,  when  fully  equipped  for  active  service,  was 
primarily  designed  for  satisfying  hunger  rather  than  to 
tickle  the  eye  of  the  gastronomical  critic  who  would  shud¬ 
der  to  behold  a  slice  of  ham  lifted  to  its  doom  on  a  sausage 
knife.  The  fundamental  idea  of  the  diner  was  to  convey 
the  food  from  the  table  to  his  teeth;  the  precise  method  of 
its  conveyance  thither  being  a  matter  of  subsidiary  con¬ 
cern.  In  his  main  purpose  he  was  successful,  and  if  the 
methods  by  which  bread  and  meat  are  transported  to  their 
final  destination  have  also  improved  with  the  lapse  of 
years,  it  is  well  to  remember  that  those  earlier  generations 
were  sturdy  men  who  fearlessly  met  whatever  emergency 
confronted  them,  whether  the  problem  was  the  conquest 
of  the  wilderness  or  the  impalement  of  a  distant  potato. 

Such  were  the  essential  features  of  the  average  early 
tavern  of  the  frontier  and  its  accommodations  of  bed  and 

216 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


board.  City  establishments  were  much  more  pretentious.1 
Of  course  there  were  all  sorts  of  public  houses.  A  few 
were  poor  establishments ;  many  were  excellent  indeed.  A 
French  traveller2  who  had  large  opportunity  to  judge 
American  inns  of  the  late  eighteenth  century  said  of  them, 
as  a  class:  “You  meet  with  neatness,  dignity  and  decency; 
the  chambers  neat,  the  beds  good,  the  sheets  clean,  supper 
passable;  cyder,  tea,  punch  and  all  for  fourteen  pence  a 
head.”3  John  Adams  was  commenting  on  an  inn  of  high 
quality  when  he  wrote:  “Oated  and  drank  tea4  at  Pease's 
—  a  smart  house  and  landlord  truly;  well  dressed  with  his 
ruffles,  etc.,  and  upon  inquiry  I  found  he  was  the  great 
man  of  the  town,  their  representative  as  well  as  tavern 
keeper.” 

A  careful  comparison  between  early  ordinaries  and 
the  later  establishments  which  had  just  begun  to  lose 
their  old  influence  and  take  on  the  character  of  modern 
hotels  has  been  left  in  the  writings  of  an  observant  Ameri¬ 
can  scholar5  who  was  familiar  with  national  conditions 
throughout  a  long  period.  “The  best  old-fashioned  New 
England  inns,”  he  averred,  “were  superior  to  any  of  the 
modern  ones.  There  was  less  bustle,  less  parade,  less 
appearance  of  doing  a  great  deal  to  gratify  your  wishes, 
than  at  the  reputable  modern  inns;6  but  much  more  was 
actually  done,  and  there  was  greater  comfort  and  en¬ 
joyment.  In  a  word,  you  found  in  these  inns  the  pleasures 
of  an  excellent  private  house.  If  you  were  sick,  you  were 
nursed  and  befriended  as  in  your  own  family.  To  finish 

1  One  of  the  greatest  of  the  early  taverns  was  the  “Indian  Queen”  in  Baltimore, 
which  had  no  less  than  two  hundred  bed-chambers.  Similarly  large  houses  were  to  be 
found,  by  Revolutionary  times,  in  Boston,  New  York  and  Philadelphia. 

2  Brissot  de  Warville. 

3  The  price  he  names  is  too  low  to  represent  the  average  charge  for  equal  enter¬ 
tainment. 

4  Meaning  that  the  horse  “oated”  and  he  drank  tea.  Pease  was  the  Yankee  who  also 
carried  on  so  many  stage-coach  lines. 

6  Timothy  Dwight. 

6  Those  of  about  1825. 


217 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 

the  story,  your  bills  were  always  equitable,  calculated  on 
what  you  ought  to  pay,  and  not  upon  the  scheme  of  get¬ 
ting  the  most  which  extortion  might  think  proper  to 
demand.” 

One  big  basis  of  the  small  charges  made  by  early 
taverns  for  the  accommodations  they  offered  was  to  be 
found  in  the  prices  of  food  during  those  times.  Govern- 


59. — A  very  large  inn,  with  travellers  arriving  and  departing.  The  vehicles 
are  a  two-horse  private  coach,  a  small  two-horse  stage-coach  of 
ovai  lines,  and  three  examples  of  the  one-horse  chaise. 


mental  regulation  of  commercial  affairs — and  even  of 
retail  trade  and  small  transactions  to  which  the  ultimate 
consumer  was  a  party — was  a  familiar  feature  of  the 
period  in  some  colonies,  and  no  little  care  was  taken 
that  the  people  were  not  unduly  charged  for  their  food¬ 
stuffs.  The  business  of  supplying  the  public  with  those 
commodities  commonly  called  necessities  of  life  was  not 

218 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


then  the  complex  and  artificially  mysterious  process  it 
has  since  become.  Neither  the  products  of  the  soil  nor 
essential  manufactured  articles  were  passed  through  many 
hands  by  a  commercial  mechanism  devised  for  the  pur¬ 
pose,  and  at  constantly  increasing  valuations,  before  reach¬ 
ing  the  individuals  who  had  actual  use  for  them.  The 
amount  of  money  needed  to  produce  a  unit  quantity  of 
any  ordinary  kind  of  food  and  place  it  before  the  con¬ 
sumer  in  the  market-place  was  a  matter  of  common  noto¬ 
riety,  or  easily  ascertainable  if  desired,  and  the  legal  prices 
of  such  commodities  were  based  on  that  knowledge.  Arti¬ 
cles  of  food  and  other  things  requiring  systematic  labor 
for  their  production  were  cheap  because  they  normally 
passed  directly  from  the  producer  to  the  consumer,  with¬ 
out  the  intervention  of  those  devious  commercial  devices 
that  have  been,  in  part,  brought  into  being  by  later  struc¬ 
tural  changes  in  human  society. 

As  an  example  of  the  retail  value  of  foodstuffs  in  the 
second  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  lawful  prices 
of  certain  commodities  in  the  New  York  City  markets  in 
the  year  1763  may  be  cited.  They  were:1 

A  hen  turkey,  two  shillings  and  sixpence;  a  teal  duck, 
sixpence;  a  quail,  one  and  one-half  penny;  a  wild  goose, 
two  shillings;  a  snipe,  one  penny;  sea  bass,  two  pence  a 
pound;  butter,  ninepence  per  pound;  lobsters,  sixpence 
per  pound ;  clams,  ninepence  a  hundred ;  oysters,  two  shill¬ 
ings  per  bushel. 

These  were  mostly  luxuries.  The  prices  of  domestic 
meats  and  ordinary  vegetables  and  fruits  were  in  no  espe¬ 
cial  need  of  regulation,  for  their  values  were  too  well 
known  and  trivial.  Of  some  such  things  the  consumer 

1  Watson’s  “Olden  Time  Researches  and  Remembrances  of  New  York  City.”  Phila., 
1830.  Contained  in  the  first  edition  of  the  “Annals  of  Philadelphia.” 

219 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


could  get  all  he  required  for  whatever  he  wanted  to  pay. 
The  vendor  of  them  at  times  acted  as  if  ashamed  to  take 
his  customer’s  money,  and  added  an  extra  peck  or  so  to  a 
bushel  of  vegetables  as  an  apology  for  making  a  commer¬ 
cial  transaction  out  of  it.  Thus,  if  the  guest  at  a  tavern 
was  protected  by  law  from  overcharge,  so  also  was  the 
tavern  keeper  himself  safeguarded  in  his  purchases  of 
provender  that  his  own  efforts  did  not  produce. 

The  traveller  in  the  South,  in  his  search  for  food  and 
shelter,  encountered  experiences  radically  different  from 
those  that  came  to  him  along  the  busier  highways  of  the 
northern  and  central  colonies.  Very  few  taverns  of  any 
sort  were  to  be  found  in  southern  regions  until  some  time 
after  the  Revolution,  and  those  that  did  exist  were  in 
Charleston,  Richmond  and  two  or  three  others  of  the  in¬ 
frequent  towns.  The  man  who  found  it  necessary  to  make 
any  extensive  journey  in  the  South  could  never  expect  to 
obtain  provision  for  his  needs  at  a  public  house  established 
for  the  purpose.  Yet  in  spite  of  such  an  apparent  obstacle 
to  endurable  travel,  the  pilgrim  in  that  part  of  the  coun¬ 
try  found  a  reception  even  more  cordial,  and  comforts 
often  more  elaborate,  than  those  which  greeted  him  in 
New  England  or  the  middle  commonwealths. 

From  earliest  times  the  people  of  the  South  displayed 
a  personal  hospitality  to  strangers  unusual  in  its  sincerity 
and  universality,  which  has  continued  without  interrup¬ 
tion  as  a  tradition  and  an  existent  reality.  Massachusetts 
colony,  as  has  been  seen,  had  a  law  framed  to  make  it 
difficult  for  a  private  person  to  entertain  a  traveller  be¬ 
neath  his  roof.  Virginia,  on  the  contrary,  declared  by  an 
act  of  government  that  unless  a  wanderer  within  her 
boundaries  himself  stipulated  that  he  was  to  pay  for  his 
entertainment  no  charge  should  fall  upon  him,  no  matter 

220 


60. — An  incident  of  pedestrian  travel.  Indicating  the  manner  in  which  packs 
of  food,  blankets  or  other  necessities  were  carried  between  taverns.  Two 
of  the  men  wear  bootees,  and  the  costumes  of  all  indicate  wealth.  The 
reptile  is  exaggerated.  A  rattlesnake  nine  feet  long  was  a  monster. 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


how  long  he  remained,  or  where.  There  were  almost  no 
southern  inns  in  the  commercial  sense,  but  every  habita¬ 
tion,  of  whatsoever  degree,  was  a  sure  refuge  for  the  way¬ 
farer  at  any  time  of  night  or  day.  So  it  was  from  the  first. 
An  early  traveller  in  the  region  drew  this  picture  of  the 
extent  to  which  the  people  of  the  South  made  it  their  duty 
to  entertain  the  sojourner  among  them: 

“The  inhabitants,”  he  said,  “are  very  courteous  to  travellers,  who 
need  no  other  recommendation  than  being  human  creatures.  A  stranger 
has  no  more  to  do  but  to  inquire  upon  the  road  where  any  gentleman  or 
good  housekeeper  lives,  and  then  he  may  depend  upon  being  received 
with  hospitality.  This  good-nature  is  so  general  among  their  people 
that  the  gentry,  when  they  go  abroad,  order  their  principal  servants  to 
entertain  all  visitors  with  everything  the  plantation  affords;  and  the  poor 
planters  who  have  but  one  bed  will  often  sit  up,  or  lie  upon  a  form,  or 
couch  all  night,  to  make  room  for  a  weary  traveller  to  repose  himself 
after  his  journey.”1 

The  southern  planters  went  even  further  than  Berke¬ 
ley  said,  for  in  the  era  when  there  were  no  public  houses 
in  that  part  of  the  country,  planters  along  the  most  fre¬ 
quented  roads  sometimes  kept  slaves  beside  the  highway 
whose  duty  it  was  to  invite  travellers  to  stop  for  the  night 
and  receive,  as  guests,  whatever  entertainment  they  re¬ 
quired.  The  cabin  dwellers  of  the  South  pursued  the 
same  policy,  and  few  worse  affronts  could  be  given  either 
to  them  or  to  the  wealthier  planters  than  to  offer  money  in 
exchange  for  the  hospitality  they  so  freely  extended. 

But  one  other  phase  of  travel  movement  remains  to  be 
mentioned  as  a  salient  feature  of  the  conditions  that  ex¬ 
isted  until  after  the  Revolution.  It  was  the  attention 
given  to  the  Susquehanna  River  region  of  New  York  and 
Pennsylvania,  and  the  first  efforts  made  to  reach  and  popu¬ 
late  that  part  of  the  country.  The  struggle  of  the  people 
of  New  England,  New  Jersey,  eastern  New  York  and 

1  Berkeley’s  “History  of  Virginia.” 


222 


.  A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


lower  Pennsylvania  to  penetrate  to  the  valley  of  the  Sus¬ 
quehanna  and  establish  themselves  there,  during  the  forty 
years  from  1735  onward,  emphasizes  the  trivial  impression 
that  had  been  made  on  the  northern  wilderness  up  to  that 
time  and  illustrates  the  diversity  of  transportation  meth¬ 
ods  which  then  prevailed.  It  has  already  been  seen  that  the 
era  was  one  in  which  desire  for  expansion  and  improve¬ 
ment  first  became  apparent  in  any  degree,  and  where¬ 
in,  for  the  first  time,  striking  contrasts  in  travel  facilities 
were  visible.  Pedestrians  and  horsemen  filled  the  roads 
between  towns  in  more  thickly  settled  regions ;  canoes  and 
pole-boats  were  busy  on  the  little  coastal  rivers  of  the 
North;  long  pack-trains  wound  through  the  Pennsylvania 
mountains ;  Conestoga  wagons  lumbered  slowly  across  the 
country,  and  the  feats  of  the  newly  established  periodic 
Flying  Machine  made  many  believe  that  the  millennium 
of  locomotion  was  swiftly  approaching.  Progress  was  in¬ 
deed  a  visible  reality,  but  it  was  almost  altogether  con¬ 
fined  to  a  few  important  highways  and  the  neighborhood 
of  half  a  dozen  important  cities.  If  the  traveller  in  any 
part  of  the  country  left  the  beaten  track,  even  but  for  a 
few  miles,  he  found  himself  amid  that  “most  howling 
wilderness”  which  appalled  the  earliest  immigrants  and 
presented  such  formidable  obstacles  to  any  advance 
through  it.  Those  primeval  barriers  to  progress  were  the 
ones  encountered  by  men  who  fought  their  way  toward  the 
Susquehanna  during  the  very  years  that  the  stage  wagon 
and  first  stage-coaches  were  coming  into  use  but  a  short 
distance  away. 

The  importance  of  the  Susquehanna  River  and  valley 
as  a  travel  route  was  recognized  at  an  early  time,1  even 


1  That  is  to  say,  the  route  was  an  important  one  to  a  people  who  had  no  means  of 
transport  but  small  boats  and  horses. 

223 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


when  the  geography  of  the  region  was  but  vaguely  known. 
Perhaps  the  first  prominent  reference  to  it  as  a  possible 
highway  for  white  men  was  that  made  by  Cadwallader 
Colden,  in  1737,  when  he  said  that  “goods  may  be  carried1 
from  this  lake  [Lake  Otsego,  in  New  York]  in  battoes  or 
flat-bottomed  vessels  through  Pennsylvania  to  Maryland 
and  Virginia  and  ...  by  either  of  these  branches 
goods  may  be  carried  to  the  mountains,  and  I  am  told  that 
the  passage  through  the  mountains  to  branches  of  the  Mis¬ 
sissippi  (which  issue  on  the  west  side  of  these  mountains2) 
is  neither  long  nor  difficult,  by  which  means  inland  navi¬ 
gation  may  be  had  to  the  Bay  of  Mexico.” 

The  first  general  manifestation  of  public  interest  in 
the  Susquehanna  country  became  visible  in  New  England 
about  1750,  and  was  in  part  due  to  stories  descriptive  of 
the  district  brought  back  by  missionaries  who  had  pene¬ 
trated  into  the  western  forest  to  convert  the  Indians.3 
These  tales  were  spread  through  Connecticut  and  Massa¬ 
chusetts  by  word  of  mouth  and  the  newspapers.  A  few 
adventurous  spirits  soon  organized  the  regular  little  travel 
caravans  and  set  forth  to  grope  through  the  woods  and 
establish  new  homes  in  the  far-off  land,  two  hundred  miles 
away,  that  was  known  to  them  only  by  hearsay.  They  put 
their  women  on  horses,  loaded  other  animals  with  bedding 
and  household  goods,  tied  the  babies  in  maple-syrup 
troughs  for  safe  keeping,  picked  up  their  rifles,  whistled 
to  the  dogs,  and  started. 

Their  way  led  them  over  the  country  to  the  Hudson 
River,  which  they  crossed  near  the  present  town  of  Cats- 
kill.  As  the  result  of  these  first  migrations  a  trail  that 

1  On  the  Susquehanna. 

2  Colden,  as  well  as  ether  public  men,  knew  of  the  head  waters  of  the  Ohio  and  dimly 
saw  their  possible  future  utility  as  an  aid  to  progress  through  the  interior. 

3  Elihu  Spencer  and  John  Sergeant  were  two  of  the  missionaries  whose  narratives 
aided  in  producing  this  result. 


224 


THE 


DOMESTIC  MANNERS 


OF  THE 


AMERICANS; 


GLASGOW: 

PUBLISHED  BY  RICHARD  GRIFFIN  &  CO. 

MDCCCXXXVI. 


CHAHACTERISTIC  SKETCHES  OF  THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE 

UNITED  STATES. 

BY  RECENT  TRAVELLERS. 


61. — Rough  travellers  carousing  around  the  huge  fireplace  in  the  assembly  room 
of  a  large  tavern  at  night.  The  floor  is  made  either  of  puncheons 
or  slabs  of  flat  stone.  The  liquor  bar  is  shown. 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


promptly  developed  into  a  well-marked  tote-road,  and 
afterward  into  a  highway  fit  for  vehicles,1  soon  led  from 
the  settled  districts  of  New  England  to  the  Hudson.  Once 
that  stream  was  passed  the  journey  through  the  forest2 
became  a  more  difficult  one.  The  route  still  to  be  traversed 
before  the  upper  waters  of  the  Susquehanna  were  reached 
was  a  hundred  miles  long  in  a  westwardly  direction, 
and  at  first  there  was  no  serviceable  path  to  be  followed. 
The  ground  was  a  jumble  of  obstacles  through  which  a 
caravan  had  to  pick  its  way  with  infinite  labor,  at  the  rate 
of  a  few  miles  a  day.  One  man  who  went  over  the  trail  in 
17533  left  a  record  of  his  experiences  in  the  wilderness 
west  of  the  Hudson  in  which  he  said  the  road  was  “ob¬ 
structed  by  fallen  trees,  old  logs,  miry  places,  pointed 
rock  and  entangling  roots.  How  bad  the  travelling  is  we 
cannot  tell.”  The  male  members  of  the  caravans  made 
beds  of  pine  boughs  at  night  for  their  wives  and  babies, 
and  themselves  rolled  up  in  blankets  on  the  ground, 
where  they  got  such  sleep  as  the  panthers  and  wolvss 
permitted  to  them.  On  arriving  at  the  Susquehanna  the 
men  of  each  pack-train  built  canoes  in  which  to  transport 
the  goods,  women  and  children  of  the  party  southward  to 
a  favorable  location,  and  a  few  members  led  the  tired 
horses  overland  along  the  banks  of  the  river.  When  all 
had  at  last  reunited  and  chosen  a  site  for  future  homes 
they  built  log  cabins  and  took  up  again  the  daily  duties 
of  their  lives. 

The  other  way  of  reaching  the  headwaters  of  the  Sus- 


1  The  road  through  Connecticut  to  the  Hudson  was  made  into  a  turnpike  about  the 
year  1800,  and  a  flood  of  travel  in  Conestoga  wagons  and  other  vehicles  then  moved  over 
it  toward  the  new  settlements  in  interior  New  York  and  northern  Pennsylvania.  Wagons, 
however,  had  reached  the  Hudson  over  the  trail  some  time  before  it  became  a  turnpike. 
A  later  reference  will  be  made  to  the  movement  toward  the  Susquehanna  as  it  developed 
after  the  Revolution. 

2  In  1871  a  traveller  between  the  Hudson  and  the  Susquehanna  measured  a  birch  tree 
26  feet  in  circumference. 

3  Gideon  Hawley,  who  travelled  from  Massachusetts  to  the  Susquehanna  in  that  year.. 

226  ' 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


quehanna  was  by  means  of  big  canoes,  usually  of  the  hol¬ 
low  log  variety,  that  were  propelled  up  the  river  by  means 
of  poles.  Many  of  the  people  who  first  travelled  into 
northern  Pennsvlvania  and  central  New  York  from  south- 
ern  Pennsylvania  and  the  Delaware  Bay  region  in  the 
second  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  made  the  trip  in 
that  manner.  When  laden  with  the  members  of  his  family 
and  his  worldly  possessions,  a  man’s  canoe  often  weighed 


62. — McCann’s  two-penny  piece.  A  specimen  of  the  metallic  money  issued  by 
a  few  early  American  tavern  keepers.  Such  pieces  are  among  the  uncom¬ 
mon  examples  of  American  coinage.  Brass.  Actual  size.  Revolutionary 
period.  The  punched  hole,  which  corresponds  to  that  made  in  some  issues 
of  early  metallic  stage-coach  and  railway  tickets,  suggests  that  tavern 
money  was  occasionally  strung  on  wire,  for  convenience.  See  illustration 
No.  159. 


a  ton.  In  seasons  of  low  water  all  the  men  and  women  got 
out,  waded  in  the  stream  and  pushed  their  craft  along 
until  another  navigable  stretch  of  the  river  was  reached. 
Thus  they  journeyed,  never  at  the  rate  of  more  than 
twenty-five  miles  a  day  and  usually  at  about  half  that 
speed,  until  they  gained  their  destination.  Two  or  three 
weeks  of  hard  work  were  required,  under  favorable  condi¬ 
tions,  to  reach  the  interior  of  New  York  from  either  New 
England  or  the  mouth  of  the  Susquehanna. 

Such  were  the  methods  by  which  the  first  travel  of 
white  people  into  upper  Pennsylvania  and  central  and 
southern  New  York  was  undertaken.  The  men  who  did 
such  extraordinary  things  looked  upon  their  experiences 

227 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


in  a  matter-of-fact  way  because  they  had  no  conception  of 
other  devices  for  human  locomotion.  They  gave  all  their 
ingenuity  to  the  problem  of  transporting  themselves  from 
place  to  place,  and  thought  they  succeeded  admirably 
well.  According  to  their  notion  the  obvious  troubles  and 
discomforts  were  altogether  due  to  natural  conditions  that 
would  never  be  greatly  different,  and  were  in  no  degree 
due  to  the  crudity  of  their  own  appliances,  which,  in  their 
opinion,  were  nearly  as  good  as  could  be  fashioned. 

All  progress  thus  far  made  in  land  travel  had  been  the 
result  of  patient  effort,  persistence  and  adaptability  along 
one  clearly  defined  but  narrow  line  of  development.  No 
other  element  had  entered  into  the  attempted  solution  of 
the  problem.  There  was  manifest,  as  indicated,  a  cer¬ 
tain  quality  of  impatience  that  had  brought  about  greater 
speed  on  highways,  and  which,  when  fully  awakened,  was 
to  alter  the  face  of  the  world  and  the  affairs  of  humanitv, 
but  it  was  not  an  impatience  born  of  knowledge  that  better 
things  exist  yet  are  unavailable  for  immediate  use.  Every 
small  forward  step  in  advance  for  a  century  and  a  half  in 
using  land  and  water  vehicles  —  boats  had  hardly  altered 
at  all  —  had  been  due,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  to 
physical  labor  either  by  man  or  beast,  or  both.  Of  those 
near  impending  miracles  born  of  the  brain  and  not  of  the 
hands,  without  which  the  task  of  continental  conquest 
might  not  have  been  accomplished  in  a  thousand  years, 
there  was  no  trace;  no  hint.  The  time  was  but  lately 
passed  when  an  exhibition  of  such  things  would  have  re¬ 
sulted  in  the  execution  of  their  originator  as  the  master  of 
infernal  powers  whose  possession  made  him  a  danger  to 
his  fellow  men.  Then  came  the  years  of  the  Revolution  as 
a  climax  to  the  incessant  economic  struggle,  social  disor¬ 
der,  political  unrest  and  turmoil  of  warfare  that  had  pre- 

228 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


vailed  during  all  the  history  of  the  new  civilization  which 
was  fighting  for  dominance  on  the  edge  of  the  conti¬ 
nent.  The  close  of  the  Revolution  and  the  attainment 
of  independence  found  the  people  of  the  new-born  states 
in  a  curious  condition  of  mind.  In  their  consideration  of, 
and  attention  to,  the  small  affairs  of  their  daily  lives  they 
behaved  in  a  normal  way,  for  the  thought  and  action  nec- 


1  i?  yqs* 

from  A]  ]««,>- 


63. — Sample  of  the  paper  money  issued  by  tavern  keepers  for  the  convenience 
of  travellers  and  the  neighboring  population.  Small  silver  was  often  scarce, 
and  tavern  money,  in  sums  under  one  dollar,  took  its  place.  If  the  repu¬ 
tation  of  the  inn-keeper  was  good,  then  the  money  was  good.  The  paper 
was  frequently  printed  from  engraved  plates,  as  in  this  case,  as  a  precau¬ 
tion  against  counterfeiting. 


essary  to  the  carrying  on  of  such  matters  was  largely  auto¬ 
matic.  At  least  it  did  not  require  any  departure  from  fa¬ 
miliar  precedent,  any  violent  effort  to  adopt  new  customs 
and  admit  that  former  methods,  as  well  as  former  years, 
were  dead. 

But  apart  from  their  daily  routine  the  attention  of  the 
population  was  given  to  a  consideration  of  political  af¬ 
fairs  and  to  the  utterance,  by  voice  or  pen,  of  all  the 
thoughts  upon  those  subjects  that  germinated  within  their 

229 


» 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 

minds.  There  was  a  cyclone  of  discussion,  a  tumult  of 
debate  that  was  hushed  only  by  the  ocean  on  one  side  and 
the  wilderness  on  the  other.  Let  it  be  said,  however,  that 
in  this  strange  period  —  as  in  all  others  of  like  nature  in 
history  —  there  were  a  few  men  whose  thoughts  were 
largely  given  to  questions  of  material  development  and 
who  tried  hard,  although  in  vain,  to  attract  the  attention 
of  their  brethren. 

These  conditions  were  not  surprising  when  considered 
in  connection  with  what  had  preceded  them.  They  were, 
rather,  natural  and  inevitable,  and  now  require  to  be 
mentioned  because  of  a  phenomenon  in  which  they  were 
soon  to  result.  For  many  years  all  that  was  strongest  in 
the  intellect  of  the  colonies  had  been  concentrated,  with  an 
intensity  hard  to  exaggerate,  on  political  affairs.  For  an 
equal  time  the  people  had  lived  a  national  life  in  which 
warfare  and  politics  had  been  almost  the  only  elements. 
The  leaders  of  public  thought  and  action  had  ceaselessly 
appealed  to  the  country  in  utterances  dealing  with  those 
things,  and  the  mass  of  the  people  had  done  nothing  but 
listen  to  the  appeals,  argue  about  them  and  fight  in  re¬ 
sponse  to  them. 

And  at  last  the  end  of  the  long  tumult  had  come;  the 
abstract  political  condition  so  long  desired  and  struggled 
for  had  been  gained.  But  the  country  could  not  at  once 
put  aside  all  memory  of  the  period  just  ended,  and  turn 
with  calm  and  unclouded  thought  to  the  more  prosaic  but 
equally  important  questions  of  domestic  affairs  and  conti¬ 
nental  progress.  Indeed,  it  is  probable  that  such  things 
were  even  further  from  the  public  mind  immediately  after 
the  Revolution  than  before  or  during  the  struggle,  since 
nations  —  like  individuals  —  have  youth,  strength  and 
senility,  and  their  inhabitants  collectively  manifest  in 

230 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


those  periods  many  of  the  characteristics  of  the  individual 
man.  It  was  a  very  young,  though  vigorous  and  boister¬ 
ous  nation  that  had  been  born  of  the  Revolution.  It  was 
old  enough  to  realize  its  own  existence,  and  was  much 
interested  in  itself  and  its  surroundings,  but  did  not  yet 
feel  equal  to  the  task  of  walking  very  far  in  any  one  direc¬ 
tion.  The  colonies,  though  they  had  won  their  freedom, 
did  not  yet  know  what  to  do  with  it.  Absorbed  in  a  con¬ 
templation  of  past  perils  from  which  they  had  so  recently 
emerged,  the  freemen  suddenly  found  that  independence, 
in  itself,  was  not  a  complete  solution  of  the  problem  cre¬ 
ated  by  their  ambition.  No  sooner  was  the  fighting  ended 
than  the  chief  figures  of  the  land  fell  into  another  vio¬ 
lent  discussion  over  the  next  step  to  be  taken,  and  the  pop¬ 
ulace  forthwith  took  sides  and  added  to  the  clamor.  Dur¬ 
ing  the  years  from  1783  to  1789  the  country  was  a  contin¬ 
uous  political  caucus,  and  no  broad  subject  that  did  not  in 
some  way  relate  to  state  rights,  Federal  jurisdiction,  term 
of  office,  taxation,  the  franchise,  or  such  things,  had  much 
chance  of  winning  the  public  ear.  Even  the  significance 
that  lay  in  the  extension  of  the  national  territory  to  the 
Mississippi  River  failed  to  receive  general  attention. 
There  was  no  way  to  get  there.  The  national  horizon,  in 
the  eyes  of  the  mass  of  the  people,  still  remained  about 
two  hundred  miles  wide  from  east  to  west. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


JOHN  FITCH  CONCEIVES  THE  PLAN  OF  APPLYING  STEAM  TO 
THE  PURPOSES  OF  TRAVEL  AND  TRANSPORTATION  — 
HIS  EARLY  METHODS  AND  MODELS — THE  IDEA  PLACED 
BEFORE  MANY  LEGISLATURES  AND  PUBLIC  MEN  —  NO 
ONE  GRASPS  ITS  VALUE  —  HE  SECURES  RECOGNITION 
AND  MONOPOLISTIC  PRIVILEGES  —  JEERS  GREET  THE 
FIRST  BOAT  MOVED  BY  STEAM  IN  AMERICA  —  PER¬ 
SISTENCE  OF  THE  INVENTOR 

IT  was  amid  these  conditions,  in  the  year  1785,  that  a 
man  named  John  Fitch,  born  in  Connecticut  but  then 
living  in  Philadelphia,  came  forward  with  a  plan  for 
revolutionizing  the  social  and  business  affairs  of  mankind 
by  applying  steam  to  the  purposes  of  travel  and  transpor¬ 
tation.  He  proposed  to  run  boats  on  the  Delaware  River 
by  means  of  steam  power,  and  proceeded  to  do  it,  while 
the  baby-among-nations  looked  on. 

The  complete  record  of  Fitch’s  life  and  work  is  avail¬ 
able,1  and  it  is  therefore  only  necessary,  in  these  pages,  to 
preface  the  narrative  of  his  invention  of  the  steamboat  in 
America  by  saying  that  he  was  a  gunsmith  during  the 

1  Whittelsey’s  “Sketch  of  the  Life  of  John  Fitch”:  Spark's  “Amer.  Biog.,"  Vol.  VI. 
Westcott’s  “Life  of  John  Fitch”: 

Howe’s  “Historical  Collections  of  Connecticut”: 

“Ohio  Archaeological  and  Historical  Publications,”  Vol.  VIII. 

Lloyd’s  “Steamboat  Directory”: 

O’Callahan’s  “Documentary  History  of  New  York”: 

Preble’s  “History  of  Steam  Navigation”: 

Thornton’s  “Short  Account  of  the  Origin  of  Steamboats”: 

Watson’s  “Annals  of  Philadelphia”: 

U.  S.  Patent  Office  Report  for  1850,  Part  I. 

“New  York  Magazine,”  1790;  etc.,  etc.,  etc. 

232 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


Revolution,  a  worker  in  metal,  a  maker  and  repairer  of 
clocks  and  watches,  and  an  explorer,  map  maker,  surveyor 
and  captive  of  the  Indians  in  the  western  wilderness.  Be¬ 
cause  of  unhappy  domestic  relations  he  had  left  his  family 
some  sixteen  years  before  the  date  mentioned,  after 
long  consideration  of  the  consequences  of  that  step  on 
himself  and  his  reputation.  And  in  later  years,  when 
putting  into  words  the  manuscript  record  of  his  under¬ 
takings  that  was  entrusted  to  the  Philadelphia  Library, 
to  be  opened  thirty  years  after  its  deposit  in  that  institu¬ 
tion,  he  said:  “I  know  of  nothing  so  perplexing  and  vexa¬ 
tious  to  a  man  of  feelings  as  a  turbulant  Wife  and  Steam¬ 
boat  building.  I  experienced  the  former,  and  quit  in 
season,  and  had  I  been  in  my  right  sences,  I  should  un¬ 
doubtedly  have  treated  the  latter  in  the  same  manner.” 

Fitch’s  scanty  education,  of  which  proof  is  seen  in  the 
passage  quoted,  will  be  understood  when  it  is  said  that  his 
father,  a  close-fisted  man,  compelled  him  to  quit  his  inter¬ 
mittent  schooling  at  the  age  of  ten  despite  the  boy’s 
protest.  After  that  calamity  he  worked  for  himself  dur¬ 
ing  the  hours  in  which  his  parent  did  not  demand  his 
services,  raised  a  crop  of  potatoes  which  he  sold  for  ten 
shillings,  and  bought  a  geography.  He  would  have  real¬ 
ized  more  from  his  labor  had  not  his  father  demanded  of 
him  a  quantity  of  the  produce  equal  to  that  originally 
given  to  him  to  plant.  The  incident  is  an  illustration  of 
the  qualities  which  later  impelled  the  man  to  persevere, 
in  the  face  of  obstacles  and  derision,  until  he  had  turned 
his  vision  of  a  steamboat  into  a  reality. 

The  idea  of  a  steamboat  came  to  him  in  the  spring  of 
1785,  and  by  August  his  first  rough  model  was  completed. 
On  the  20th  of  that  month,  Doctor  Ewing,  Provost  of  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  wrote  a  letter  to  William 

233 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


Houston,  a  former  member  of  Congress,  in  which  he  said: 
“I  have  examined  Mr.  Fitch’s  machine  for  rowing  a  boat. 
.  .  .  It  is  certain  that  the  extensive  force  of  water,  when 
converted  into  steam,  is  equal  to  any  obstruction  that  can 
be  laid  in  its  way  .  .  .  and  the  application  of  this  force 
to  turn  a  wheel  in  the  water,  so  as  to  answer  the  purpose  of 
oars,  seems  easy  and  natural  by  the  machine  which  he  pro¬ 
poses,  and  of  which  he  has  shown  me  a  rough  model.  .  .” 
With  this  as  a  basis  Fitch  started  for  New  York  City  in  an 
effort  to  interest  Congress  in  his  invention.  He  stopped  on 
the  way  at  Trenton,  where  Houston  wrote  a  similar  letter, 
and  at  Princeton,  where  Provost  Smith  of  Princeton  Col¬ 
lege  gave  him  a  third.  Reaching  the  national  capital, 
the  inventor  wrote  a  letter  to  Congress  which  read  as 
follows : 

“August  29,  1785. 

“Sir : 

“The  subscriber  begs  leave  to  lay  at  the  feet  of  Congress,  an  attempt 
he  has  made  to  facilitate  the  internal  Navigation  of  the  United  States, 
adapted  especially  to  the  Waters  of  the  Mississippi.  The  machine  he 
has  invented  for  the  purpose,  has  been  examined  by  several  Gentlemen  of 
Learning  and  Ingenuity,  who  have  given  it  their  approbation.  Being 
thus  encouraged,  he  is  desirous  to  solicit  the  attention  of  Congress,  to 
a  rough  model  of  it  now  with  him,  that,  after  examination  into  the 
principles  upon  which  it  operates,  they  may  be  enabled  to  judge  whether 
it  deserves  encouragement.  And  he,  as  in  duty  bound,  shall  ever  pray. 

“John  Fitch. 

“H  is  Excellency,  The  President  of  Congress.” 

This  letter  was  referred  to  a  committee  of  three  mem¬ 
bers,  who  made  no  report  as  far  as  the  records  show.  The 
minutes  of  Congress,  at  that  time,  contained  no  reference 
to  any  but  matters  considered  to  be  of  importance.  Fitch’s 
invention  did  not  fall  within  that  category.  He  returned 
to  Pennsylvania  filled  with  anger  at  the  treatment  he  had 
received,  and  thereafter  referred  to  the  committee  of  Con¬ 
gress  as  “ignorant  boys.”  But  before  departing  from  New 

234 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


York  he  had  approached  the  Spanish  Minister  with  his 
boat.  The  diplomat  was  much  interested,  and  desired 
that  the  invention  should  be  the  exclusive  property  of  his 
master,  the  King  of  Spain.  To  this  Fitch  would  not 
consent. 

Fitch’s  first  model  is  described  by  Provost  Ewing  of 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania  as  having  a  wheel  that 
turned  in  the  water.  The  best  description  of  it  is  hy 


John  Fitch’s  model  of  Sept.,  1785,  with  endless  chain  and  floats  and  paddle- 
boards,  in  possession  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society. 


;:3 

1 

l 

i 

,/! 

,  j 


64. — John  Fitch  conceives  the  idea  that  steam  might  be  applied  to  the  purposes 
of  transportation,  and  invents  a  steamboat.  His  first  steam-propelled  craft, 
in  1785,  was  a  skiff  moved  by  little  paddles  (shown  in  black  in  the  illus¬ 
tration)  which  were  attached  to  an  endless  chain.  The  illustrations  to 
No.  72,  inclusive,  also  relate  to  Fitch’s  work. 


Daniel  Longstreth,1  who  says:  “It  was  in  this  log  shop 
[owned  by  Cobe  Scout,  a  wheelwright  of  Bucks  county, 
Pa.]  that  Fitch  made  his  model  steamboat,  with  paddle- 
wheels  as  they  are  now  used.  The  model  was  tried  on  a 
small  stream  on  Joseph  Longstreth’s  meadow,  about  half 
a  mile  from  Davisville,  in  Southampton  township,  and  it 
realized  every  expectation.  The  machinery  was  made  of 
brass,  with  the  exception  of  the  paddle-wheels,  which 
were  made  of  wood  by  Nathaniel  B.  Boileau,2  whilst  on  a 
visit  during  vacation  from  Princeton  College.” 

1  The  “D.  L.”  of  Watson’s  “Annals.”  Daniel  Longstreth’s  father  was  an  associate  of 
Fitch  while  the  inventor  lived  in  Pennsylvania. 

2  Afterward  Secretary  of  State  of  Pennsylvania. 

235 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


Other  accounts  relating  to  Fitch’s  preliminary  ideas 
are  given  by  Doctor  William  Thornton,  a  member  of 
Fitch’s  company,  by  Henry  Voigt,  also  a  member  of  the 
company  and  the  inventor’s  principal  assistant,  and  by 
Oliver  Evans,  an  early  engineer  of  America  who  him¬ 
self  built  and  ran  a  steamboat  at  Philadelphia  in  1804. 
Probably  because  the  wheels  were  too  heavy  for  such 
a  small  model  and  weak  engine  they  were  almost  at  once 
discarded.  On  this  point  Whittlesey  says:  “The  buckets 
of  the  wheels  were  found  to  labor  too  much  in  the  water, 
entering,  as  they  did,  at  a  considerable  angle,  and  depart¬ 
ing  at  the  same.  They  lost  power  by  striking  at  the  surface 
and  afterwards  lifting  themselves  out  of  water.  This  led 
to  the  substitution  of  oars  or  paddles.” 

For  these  reasons,  in  all  probability,  Fitch  made  the 
first  of  three  successive  alterations  in  the  method  by  which 
his  boat  was  to  be  propelled.  On  September  27,  1785,  he 
attended  the  meeting  of  the  American  Philosophical  So¬ 
ciety  at  Philadelphia,  and  laid  before  that  organization  an 
amended  drawing  and  model  of  his  invention.  The  rec¬ 
ords  of  the  Society  on  the  subject  read: 

“Tuesday,  September  27,  1785. 

“The  model,  with  a  Drawing  and  Description,  of  a  Machine  for 
working  a  Boat  against  the  stream  by  means  of  a  steam-engine,  was  laid 
before  the  Society  by  Mr.  John  Fitch.” 

“December  2nd,  1785. 

“A  copy  of  the  Drawing  and  Description  of  a  machine  for  rowing  a 
boat  against  the  current,  which  sometime  ago  was  laid  before  the  Society 
by  Mr.  John  Fitch,  he  this  evening  presented  to  them.” 

The  model  was  preserved  by  the  Society.  By  1857, 
when  Westcott  investigated  the  subject  and  wrote  his  life 
of  the  inventor,  all  the  drawings  and  descriptions  were 
missing. 

By  reference  to  the  illustration  of  Fitch’s  second 

236 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


model  it  will  be  seen  that  he  had  substituted,  in  place  of 
paddle-wheels,  a  series  of  upright  paddles  attached  to  end¬ 
less  chains,  which  passed  over  a  roller  toward  the  bow  of 
the  boat,  entered  the  water,  propelled  the  craft,  and 
emerged  to  repeat  the  circuit.  A  section  of  the  endless 
chain  of  paddles  is  also  reproduced. 

Fitch  had  worked  himself  into  a  mental  frenzy.  He 
believed  he  was  on  the  right  track,  and  was  certain  he 
could  propel  a  boat  by  steam.  No  other  thought  pos¬ 
sessed  him.  His  days  were  given  to  alternate  pleadings 
and  arguments,  or  else  to  fits  of  rage,  melancholy  or  exas¬ 
peration  because  he  was  penniless  and  could  not  go  ahead 
without  help  from  others.  But  since  aid  was  plainly  nec¬ 
essary  he  set  out  to  get  it,  armed  with  a  determination  to 
compel  attention  and  secure  the  necessary  money  from 
some  source  either  public  or  private.  He  began,  there¬ 
fore,  a  methodic  visitation  of  legislatures  and  persons  in 
high  place  that  was  as  apparently  endless  as  his  system  of 
paddles.  His  first  effort  was  an  attempt  to  enlist  the 
interest  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  to  whom  he  wrote  a  letter 
on  October  12th.  In  urging  the  necessity  of  steamboats  to 
Franklin  he  said:  “It  is  a  matter  in  his  [Fitch’s]  opinion 
of  the  first  Magnitude  not  only  to  the  United  States,  but  to 
every  Maratime  power  in  the  World,  as  he  is  full  in  the 
belief  that  it  will  answer  for  sea  Voiages,  as  well  as  for 
inland  Navigation,  in  particular  for  Packets  where  there 
should  be  a  great  number  of  Pasengers.”  This  letter 
Westcott  found  in  possession  of  the  American  Philosoph¬ 
ical  Society  of  Philadelphia. 

The  next  victim  of  the  inventor’s  importunities  was 
ex-Governor  Thomas  Johnson,  of  Maryland,  who  got  rid 
of  him  by  suggesting  that  he  go  to  see  General  Washing¬ 
ton.  So  Fitch  posted  forthwith  to  Mount  Vernon,  where 

237 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


65. — Detail  of  the  propulsion  method  of  Fitch’s  first  boat.  The  paddles  were 
out  of  water  as  they  moved  forward,  and  after  passing  the  front  roller 
they  entered  the  water  and  proceeded  toward  the  stern,  thus  forcing  the 
boat  ahead. 

the  General,  he  says,  received  him  with  courtesy  and  lis¬ 
tened  to  his  plans.  That  was  the  usual  thing.  Everybody 
always  received  him,  and  everybody  listened,  or  appeared 
to.  His  next  stopping  place  was  Richmond,  in  Virginia, 
where  the  legislature  was  in  session.  Legislatures  at  that 
time  were  Fitch’s  especial  prey,  and  his  memorial  to  the 
Virginia  Assembly  was  presented  by  no  less  a  person  than 
James  Madison.  A  committee  was  duly  appointed  —  fa¬ 
miliar  procedure  to  the  poverty-stricken  man  who  was 
begging  for  the  opportunity  of  enriching  the  world  be¬ 
yond  computation  —  and  its  members  spoke  very  favor¬ 
ably  to  the  petitioner.  But  they  made  no  report.  He 
also  saw  Patrick  Henry,  then  governor  of  the  state,  who 
said  the  plan  was  novel  and  interesting. 

Returning  to  Fredericktown  he  again  went  to  ex- 
Governor  Johnson,  who  hastily  subscribed  to  Fitch’s  map 
of  the  Northwest  Territory  as  a  means  of  being  rid  of  him, 
and  suggested  that  the  legislature  of  Maryland  was  in 
session  at  Annapolis.  So  indeed  it  was,  but  Fitch  was  also 
aware  that  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly  had  gathered  again 
in  Philadelphia,  and  he  went  there  first,  presenting  his 
usual  petition.  It  was  referred  to  a  committee  who  made 

238 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


a  flattering  oral  report,  but  no  action  was  taken.  Final¬ 
ly,  at  Annapolis,  and  for  the  first  time,  Fitch’s  plan  re¬ 
ceived  formal  notice.  The  Maryland  legislature  consid¬ 
ered  it  for  three  days  and  then  refused  to  endorse  the  in¬ 
vention.  The  committee  said  that  although  it  was  desira¬ 
ble  “for  liberal  and  enlightened  Legislators  to  encourage 
useful  arts,”  yet  the  state  and  condition  of  the  state’s 
finances  did  not  permit  such  action  in  that  instance.  His 
next  stopping  place  on  the  trip  was  at  Dover,  in  Delaware. 
Fitch  talked  with  the  members  of  the  legislature  and 
doubtless  finding  the  effort  useless  did  not  present  his  plan, 
but  departed  for  Philadelphia.  In  February  of  1786  he 
went  to  Trenton.  On  the  defeat  of  his  bill  by  the  New 
Jersey  legislature  he  returned  to  his  home. 

Fitch  had  then  appealed  to  all  the  powerful  men  with¬ 
in  his  reach,  to  five  states,  and  to  the  General  Congress, 
without  effect.  Not  one  mind  grasped  the  value  of  the 
idea.  So  he  decided  to  begin  all  over  again,  and  went 
once  more  to  Doctor  Franklin.  That  eminent  man  spoke 
in  a  calm  and  complimentary  vein,  declined  to  endorse  the 
steamboat,  and  then,  taking  Fitch  into  another  room,  pri¬ 
vately  offered  to  give  him  several  dollars  in  cash.  The 
incensed  inventor  refused  the  money  except  as  a  subscrip¬ 
tion  toward  the  building  of  the  boat  and  withdrew  in 
anger  from  the  abode  of  philosophy. 

Doubtless  Benjamin  Franklin  had  never  before  made 
such  a  mistake  in  his  diagnosis  of  a  fellow  man,  but  doubt¬ 
less,  also,  the  same  error  would  have  been  made  by  others 
as  profound  as  he,  if  such  there  were.  The  tall,  gaunt, 
shabby,  excitable,  almost  incoherent  enthusiast,  pouring 
out  words  in  a  frantic  effort  to  make  others  see  the  future 
as  he  saw  it,  already  presented  to  many  minds  the  spec¬ 
tacle  of  a  madman  babbling  over  a  phantasy. 

239 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


But  the  turning-point  was  almost  at  hand.  After  still 
another  appeal  to  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  which  he 
left  to  its  usual  fate,  he  rushed  away  again  to  Trenton 
where  he  petitioned  the  New  Jersey  legislature  for  a  spe¬ 
cial  law  giving  to  him  the  exclusive  right  to  navigate  the 
waters  of  that  state  by  steam  power.  He  had  altered  his 
tactics,  and  instead  of  trying  to  get  money  first  he  begged 
for  legal  privileges,  hoping  the  necessary  cash  would  be 
easier  to  secure  if  his  claim  as  an  inventor  was  recognized. 
This  application  was  successful.  On  March  18,  1786, 
New  Jersey  granted  to  Fitch  “The  sole  and  exclusive  right 
of  constructing,  making,  using  and  employing,  or  navi¬ 
gating,  all  and  every  species  or  kinds  of  boats,  or  water 
craft,  which  might  be  urged  or  impelled  by  the  force  of 
fire  or  steam,  in  all  the  creeks,  rivers,  etc.,  within  the  terri¬ 
tory  or  jurisdiction  of  this  state.”  The  right  so  given  was 
to  exist  for  fourteen  years. 

Whatever  historical  interest  New  Jersey’s  action  of 
1786  may  have  as  a  landmark  in  the  evolution  of  travel 
facilities  is  overshadowed  by  its  greater  importance  in 
another  respect.  The  passage  of  Fitch’s  bill  was  the  first 
step  on  a  pathway  of  error  along  which  the  country  stum¬ 
bled  for  more  than  half  a  century,  and  some  effects  of  the 
mistake  are  still  visible  throughout  the  whole  modern 
system  of  American  transportation.  New  Jersey’s  grant 
was  a  declaration  of  the  principle  that  individuals  or  indi¬ 
vidual  companies  might  hold  exclusive  privileges  for  the 
transporting  of  passengers  and  freight  by  certain  methods 
within  the  limits  of  any  state.  Imitated,  as  it  was,  by 
other  commonwealths,  the  idea  thus  established  split  the 
country  into  small  fragments  on  the  one  feature  of  na¬ 
tional  development  which,  above  all  others,  called  for  a 
policy  continental  in  its  scope. 

240 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


The  effect  of  the  monopolistic  privilege  on  Fitch’s 
plans  was  highly  favorable.  Within  five  weeks  he  had 
organized  a  little  company  of  nearly  twenty  men,  and  of 
the  forty  equal  shares  he  was  to  have  one-half  for  his  in¬ 
vention  and  services.  The  others  paid  about  twenty  dol¬ 
lars  each,  and  something  over  three  hundred  dollars  was 
on  hand  with  which  to  build  the  first  American  steamboat. 
At  this  time  —  April  of  1786  —  there  were  but  three 
steam-engines  in  America.  All  were  built  on  the  old 
atmospheric  plan,  and  the  newest  of  them,  that  at  the 
Schuyler  mine,  near  Passaic,  New  Jersey,  had  been 
brought  from  England  thirty  years  before.  The  other  two 
were  in  New  England,  and  still  older.  No  one  in  the 
country  had  ever  made  anything  like  the  engine  that  Fitch 
called  for,  nor  was  any  man  known  to  possess  the  skill 
necessary  to  do  it.  In  the  face  of  such  conditions  he 
started  to  create,  out  of  nothing  more  tangible  than  the 
ideas  of  his  brain,  a  vehicle  that  should  navigate  the  water 
by  means  of  power  contained  within  its  own  fabric.  The 
element  of  human  invention  had  at  last  been  applied  to 
the  problem  of  transportation. 

While  concerned  over  the  proper  construction  of  his 
engine  Fitch  fell  in  with  an  ingenious  Philadelphia 
watchmaker  named  Henry  Voight,  and  enlisted  his  serv¬ 
ices  in  the  work.  Together  they  built  a  small  skiff  and  an 
engine  with  a  three-inch  cylinder,  and  about  July  20, 
1786,  for  the  first  time  operated  a  steamboat  on  American 
waters.  The  miniature  machinery  and  chain  of  paddles 
worked  but  poorly,  and  a  little  group  who  watched  the 
boat  from  the  shore  jeered  the  two  men  and  the  wonder 
they  had  performed.  Some  local  notoriety  had  attended 
the  formation  of  the  company  and  plan  of  the  inventor, 
but  all  public  comment  was  by  word  of  mouth,  accom- 

241 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


panied  by  winks  and  jests.  The  newspapers  made  no  men¬ 
tion  of  the  matter.  It  was  a  joke,  ill-fitted  to  the  serious 
times  and  to  those  matters  of  consequence  that  engrossed 
popular  attention. 

A  few  days  after  this  experiment  Fitch  conceived  the 
idea  of  propelling  the  boat  by  a  series  of  twelve  upright 


66. — Fitch’s  second  boat.  With  his  little  experimental  engine  and  upright  oars 
it  was  operated  on  the  Delaware  River,  at  Philadelphia,  in  1786.  The 
contemporary  engraving  here  reproduced  is  that  printed  in  the  Columbian 
Magazine  for  December,  1786.  By  an  oversight  the  engraver  of  1786 
omitted  to  show  the  smoke-pipe. 

paddles,  like  oars,  arranged  six  on  each  side  and  operated 
by  a  system  of  cranks.  The  device  was  accordingly  built 
and  fitted  to  the  skiff,  and  was  found  to  move  the  craft 
with  increased  speed  and  power.  It  was  nevertheless  seen 
that  additional  money  was  needed  for  larger  machinery 
and  a  bigger  boat,  in  order  to  carry  on  a  test  under  condi¬ 
tions  more  nearly  approaching  the  practical  commercial 
vehicle  toward  which  the  inventor  was  aiming. 

242 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


Neither  during  his  earlier  efforts  nor  at  any  time  did 
Fitch  falter  in  his  certainty  that  he  had  hit  upon  a  means 
of  transportation  which  would  alter  the  affairs  of  man¬ 
kind,  or  that  he  would  succeed  in  producing,  in  concrete 
form,  the  thing  his  brain  had  already  constructed.  It  was 
amid  these  days  that  he  wrote  a  letter  to  Stacy  Potts,  a 
member  of  the  company,  in  which  he  said :  “My  expecta¬ 
tions  are  daily  increasing  as  to  the  success  of  our  undertak¬ 
ing,  and  dout  not  but  it  will  be  a  matter  of  the  first  magni¬ 
tude  to  the  World.”1  Two  other  letters  written  by  the 
inventor  at  the  same  time  show  an  identical  frame  of  mind. 
One  was  a  petition  to  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly  asking 
for  a  loan  of  £150, 2  in  which  he  spoke  of  steam  transporta¬ 
tion  as  “a  plan  that  would  enrich  America  at  least  3  times 
as  much  as  all  that  country  N.W.  [northwest]  of  the  Ohio, 
as  it  would  make  that  country  four  times  as  valuable,  be¬ 
side  the  inconceivable  advantages  to  the  settled  portion  of 
the  continent.”  In  the  same  communication  he  defined  a 
characteristic  of  the  people  by  saying,  “There  is  such  a 
strange  infatuation  in  mankind  that  it  seems  they  would 
rather  lay  out  their  money  in  Beloons3  and  Fireworks,  and 
be  a  pest  to  Society  than  to  lay  it  out  in  something  that 
would  be  of  use  to  themselves  and  Country.”  The  legis¬ 
lature  refused  to  make  the  requested  loan.  The  other 
letter  was  a  similar  request  addressed  to  General  Thomas 
Mifflin,  of  Pennsylvania,  in  which  Fitch  declared:  “I  am 
of  opinion,  that  a  vessel  may  be  carried  six,  seven  or  eight 
miles  per  hour,  by  the  force  of  steam,  and  the  larger  the 
vessel,  the  better  it  will  answer,  and  am  strongly  inclined 

1  This  letter,  quoted  by  Westcott  in  his  biography  of  Fitch,  has  long  been  lost.  It  was 
recently  rediscovered  by  Emil  Sauer,  the  antiquary,  and  presented  to  the  New  York  His¬ 
torical  Society  by  S.  V.  Hoffman,  Esq.,  the  President  of  that  Institution,  together  with 
five  other  important  Fitch  documents  found  with  it. 

2  It  was  the  custom  at  that  time  for  state  legislatures  to  advance  money  to  inventors 
for  the  prosecution  of  enterprises  useful  to  society.  The  Pennsylvania  Assembly,  a  few 
weeks  before,  had  loaned  another  man  £300  for  the  manufacture  of  bar  iron. 

3  Balloons  had  lately  been  invented,  and  had  been  shown  in  America  for  the  first  time. 

243 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


to  believe  that  it  will  answer  for  sea  Voiages  as  well  as  for 
inland  Navigation.  .  .  .  Was  it  a  thing  of  trifling  con¬ 
sequence  to  my  Country,  I  would  not  persue  it  with  such 
assiduity.” 

All  Fitch’s  efforts  to  obtain  enough  money  in  1786  to 
enable  him  to  continue  the  work  were  fruitless.  In  that 
year  he  deposited  his  plans  and  drawings  with  the  Amer¬ 
ican  Philosophical  Society,  in  Philadelphia,  but  like  so 
much  other  material  evidence  of  his  invention,  those 
things  disappeared.  When  Westcott  sought  for  them1 
they  were  not  to  be  found.  The  models  and  drawings  of 
Fitch’s  early  boats  were  destroyed  by  the  burning  of  the 
United  States  Patent  Office  in  1836.  One  contemporary 
evidence  of  what  was  done  in  1786  remains.  It  is  the  pic¬ 
ture  of  his  second  boat,  engraved  on  copper  and  published 
in  the  Columbian  Magazine  for  December  of  that  year,2 
together  with  a  brief  reference  to  the  mechanism  then 
used  which  was  soon  afterward  printed  in  the  same  peri¬ 
odical.  The  illustration  in  this  work  is  photographed 
from  the  original  printed  in  1786.  A  part  of  the  contem¬ 
porary  description  of  the  mechanism  of  the  second  boat 
said : 

“The  piston  is  to  move  about  three  feet,  and  each  vibration  of  the 
piston  turns  the  axle  tree  about  two-thirds  round.  They  propose  to 
make  the  piston  to  strike  thirty  strokes  in  a  minute ;  which  will  give  the 
axle-tree  about  forty  revolutions.  Each  revolution  of  the  axle-tree 
moves  twelve  oars  five  and  a  half  feet.  As  six  oars  come  out  of  the 
water  six  more  enter  the  water;  which  makes  a  stroke  of  about  eleven 
feet  each  revolution.  The  oars  work  perpendicularly,  and  make  a  stroke 
similar  to  the  paddle  of  a  canoe  .  .  .  and  both  the  action  and  reaction 
of  the  piston  operate  to  turn  the  axle-tree  the  same  way.”3 

1  About  1856. 

2  Through  some  odd  oversight  the  engraver  showed  no  smoke-stack. 

3  The  thing  that  prevented  early  engineers  up  to  about  1780  from  developing  the 
steam-engine,  was  the  difficulty  of  converting  the  back-and-fourth  motion  of  the  piston  into 
a  rotary  motion  by  means  of  a  wheel  moved  by  the  piston.  The  mechanical  princip'e  thus 
sought  had  been  in  use  for  centuries  on  domestic  spinning  wheels,  but  no  one  thought  of 
applying  it  to  steam-engines  until  Pickard,  in  1780,  devised  the  crank  attachment  by 
which  the  dead  point  of  the  wheel  was  passed  and  a  complete  revolution  obtained. 

244 


67. — Early  literature  relating  to  travel  in  America.  Title  page  of  Rumsey’s 
pamphlet  claiming  precedence  over  Fitch  as  a  steamboat  inventor.  Second 
edition  of  the  first  American  book  on  steamboats.  Printed  in  1788. 


A 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


Fitch  was  reduced  to  temporary  inactivity  through 
lack  of  money.  Some  members  of  his  company  had  origi¬ 
nally  subscribed  because  of  friendship  for  the  inventor 
with  no  hope  of  return,  while  others,  over-enthusiastic, 
had  expected  large  and  immediate  results  from  their  in¬ 
vestments.  Both  sorts  were  disinclined  to  make  further 
contributions,  and  in  extremity  Fitch  turned  again  to  the 
various  legislatures  in  an  effort  to  secure  recognition  of 
his  rights  as  an  inventor,  and  privileges  in  the  use  of  the 
steamboat.  His  applications  to  some  of  those  bodies  were 
fought  by  various  other  men  who  had  suggested  improve¬ 
ments  in  the  use  of  steam  as  applied  to  existing  contri¬ 
vances,  but  Fitch  met  such  opposition  boldly.  In  his  state¬ 
ment  to  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly  he  said,  among  other 
things : 

“I  never  pretended  to  be  the  first  inventor  of  the  steam  engine,  nor 
ever  did  Petition  for  an  Exclusive  right  for  them.  I  have  never  asked 
it  in  any  other  way  than  where  it  has  never  been  applied,  and  I  presume 
the  World  cannot  produce  a  steam  engine  floating  on  the  water.  Neither 
do  I  conceive  that  all  the  Improvements  that  are  yet  to  be  made  on 
:steam  are  to  be  done  on  the  water  . 

“I  here  produce  seven  different  plans  of  applying  the  force  of  steam 
to  a  boat,  and  could  produce  four  different  models,  if  necessary  .  .  . 

“It  is  the  force  and  power  that  I  contend  for.  As  to  the  thought  of 
applying  that  force  to  vessels  I  claim  priority,  and  not  the  mode  of 
application. 

“It  is  an  undoubted  fact  that  I  am  the  first  inventor  of  the  steam¬ 
boat1  ;  .  .  .  I  have  set  myself  up  as  a  mark  of  derision,  and  have 

suffered  every  insult  that  the  contempt  which  the  populace  have  for 
projectors  could  inflict. 

“The  propelling  of  a  boat  with  steam  is  as  new  as  the  rowing  of  a 
boat  with  angels,  and  I  claim  the  first  thought  and  invention  of  it.” 

Opposition  collapsed  before  words  like  that,  and  the 
lawmakers  recognized  the  inventor’s  claim.  The  state  of 
Delaware,  on  February  3,  1787,  gave  to  Fitch  the  exclu- 

1  He  was  the  first  in  America,  but  not  in  the  world.  His  work  and  devices  show  that 
tie  did  not  know  of  earlier  similar  inventions  mentioned  in  a  later  chapter. 

246 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 

sive  right  to  navigate  all  its  waters  by  boats  propelled  in 
any  way  by  steam  for  a  period  of  fourteen  years.  New 
York  passed  a  similar  act  on  March  19  of  the  same  year; 
Pennsylvania  gave  him  identical  privileges  on  March  28, 
and  Virginia  took  like  action  on  November  7.  Each  com¬ 
monwealth  bestowed  on  him  a  monopoly  of  steam  naviga¬ 
tion  within  its  limits  for  a  period  of  years,  as  New  Jersey 
had  previously  done ;  but  two  of  the  states  also  took  certain 
action  that  was,  in  the  future,  to  have  far  reaching  and  long 
continued  effect  on  the  history  of  steam  transportation  in 
America.  Virginia  included  in  her  law  a  proviso  that 
Fitch  must  have  “boats”  —  obviously  meaning  more  than 
one  —  in  operation  on  the  waters  of  the  state  within  a 
period  of  three  years,  and  New  York  ordered  that  if  any 
other  man  usurped  the  rights  granted,  such  interloper  was 
to  forfeit  £100  to  Fitch  and  suffer  the  confiscation  of  his 
boat  and  engine  by  the  original  inventor.  The  stipulation 
made  by  Virginia  was  thought  to  be  of  especial  value  to 
the  company,  for  as  that  state  had  long  claimed 
sovereignty  over  much  of  the  territory  extending  to  the 
Mississippi  River,  a  compliance  with  it  meant,  in  the 
estimation  of  the  company,  that  Fitch  and  his  associates 
would  enjoy  a  monopoly  of  steam  transportation  on  the 
Ohio,  upper  Mississippi  and  other  interior  streams. 

The  action  of  Delaware  and  the  other  states  elated  the 
company  and  stirred  it  to  renewed  activity.1  Success  and 
wealth  seemed  assured.  More  money  was  subscribed,  and 
Fitch  and  his  assistant  again  began  work  in  the  produc¬ 
tion  of  a  larger  boat  and  an  engine  with  a  twelve-inch 
cylinder.  Again  they  were  balked  in  their  efforts  to  pro¬ 
duce  a  smooth-working  mechanism.  The  task  was  a  hard 

1  A  new  agreement  was  drawn  up  on  February  9,  1787,  which  Westcott  found  in  the 
American  Philosophical  Society  archives  when  preparing  his  biography. 

247 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


one.  They  were  hampered  by  a  lack  of  knowledge  of 
the  relationships  and  proportions  which  cylinder,  con¬ 
denser,  boiler,  pump  and  other  parts  of  a  steam-engine 
should  bear  to  one  another.  They  were  building  out  of 
nothing,  and  could  learn  only  by  experience  and  repeated 
failure.  No  sooner  did  they  have  one  part  of  the  con¬ 
trivance  perfect  than  something  else  failed.  In  May  of 
1787  the  whole  engine  was  taken  down  and  rebuilt  at 
heavy  cost,  and  once  more  the  company  became  so  dis¬ 
couraged  that  some  of  its  members  abandoned  the  enter¬ 
prise  altogether.  But  Fitch  remained  stubborn  in  his 
resolution  to  go  on,  wrote  a  long  address  to  the  public 
in  which  he  elaborately  reviewed  his  invention,  reaffirmed 
his  certainty  in  its  value,  pointed  out  its  advantages  in 
opening  the  country  to  white  settlement,  and  used  the 
words:  “The  Grand  and  Principle  object  must  be  on  the 
Atlantick;  which  would  soon  overspread  the  wild  forests 
of  America  with  people,  and  make  us  the  most  oppulent 
Empire  on  Earth.  .  .  .  Pardon  me,  generous  public,  for 
suggesting  ideas  that  cannot  be  dijested  at  this  day.” 


CHAPTER  XV 


FITCH'S  SECOND  BOAT  —  CONTEMPORARY  ACCOUNTS  OF  IT 
—  THE  THIRD  VESSEL —  FIRST  REGULARLY  OPERATED 
STEAMBOAT  IN  THE  WORLD  —  IT  IS  RUN  ON  THE 
DELAWARE  FOR  SEVERAL  MONTHS  —  MORE  CONTEM- 

?  V  *  .1 

PORARY  STATEMENTS  —  DISASTER  —  THE  INVENTOR 
IS  CALLED  A  MADMAN  —  PERSISTS  “FOR  THE  BENEFIT 
OF  OUR  EMPIRE” —  GOES  TO  FRANCE  AND  LEAVES  HIS 
PLANS  THERE  —  RETIRES  TO  THE  KENTUCKY  WILDER¬ 
NESS  AND  MAKES  A  STRANGE  WHEELED  ENGINE  — 
DESPAIR  —  DEATH 

FITCH’S  persistence  once  more  had  its  way.  His 
associates  found  additional  funds,  the  second  boat 
was  completed,  and  on  August  22,  1787,  it  was 

operated  under  its  own  power  on  the  Delaware  River  in 
the  presence  of  many  people,  including  most  of  the  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  Constitutional  Convention  then  sitting  in  Phila¬ 
delphia.  Still  there  was  no  general  recognition  of  one  of 
the  most  important  events  that  had  taken  place  since 
Columbus  discovered  the  western  world.  The  few  cur¬ 
rent  references  to  Fitch’s  work  are  short,  and  lacking  in 
comprehension  of  the  effect  the  invention  was  destined  to 
have  on  man’s  progress.  He  himself  seems  to  have  been 
the  only  individual  rightly  to  measure  what  he  was  doing. 
One  of  the  contemporary  mentions  of  the  test  of  August 
22nd  occurs  in  a  day-book  kept  by  the  Reverend  Ezra 

249 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


Stiles,  of  New  Haven,  who  under  date  of  August  27  made 
in  his  diary  the  following  entry: 

“Judge  Ellsworth,  a  member  of  the  Federal  Convention,  just  re¬ 
turned  from  Philadelphia,  visited  me,  and  tells  me  the  Convention  will 
not  rise  under  three  weeks.  He  there  saw  a  Steam-engine  for  rowing 
boats  against  the  stream,  invented  by  Mr.  Fitch,  of  Windsor,  in  Con¬ 
necticut.  He  was  on  board  the  boat,  and  saw  the  experiment  succeed.” 

Another  mention  of  the  boat  made  at  about  the  same 
time  was  contained  in  a  written  statement  by  David  Rit- 
tenhouse,  an  early  American  scientist,  who  said  under 
date  of  December  12,  1787: 

“These  may  certify  that  the  subscriber  has  frequently  seen  Mr. 
Fitch’s  steamboat,  which  with  great  labour  and  perseverance  he  has  at 
length  compleated,  and  has  likewise  been  on  board  when  the  boat  was 
worked  against  both  wind  and  tide,  with  a  very  considerable  degree  of 
velocity  by  the  force  of  steam  only.  Mr.  Fitch’s  merit  in  constructing  a 
good  steam  engine,  and  applying  it  to  so  useful  a  purpose,  will  no  doubt 
meet  with  the  encouragement  he  so  justly  deserves  from  the  generousity 
of  his  countrymen ;  especially  those  who  wish  to  promote  every  improve¬ 
ment  of  the  useful  arts  in  America.”1 

At  about  this  time  the  inventor  became  involved  in  a 
controversy  with  James  Rumsey,  of  Virginia,  who  had 
previously  invented  a  boat  in  which  the  setting  poles 
whereby  it  was  propelled  were  to  be  operated  through  a 
system  of  mechanical  cranks  operated  by  wheels  and  hand 
power.  Rumsey  apparently  found  that  such  a  device  was 
not  of  value  for  he  soon  turned  to  the  use  of  steam,  and  at 
first  devised  a  boat  based  somewhat  on  a  previous  idea  of 
Doctor  Franklin,  who  had  suggested  that  a  forward 
movement  might  be  obtained  by  forcibly  ejecting  a  stream 
of  water  from  the  stern  of  the  craft.  Rumsey  found  many 
supporters  among  prominent  men,2  and  an  association 

1  Westcott’s  “Life  of  John  Fitch.” 

2  hitch  was  an  anti-Federalist,  and  his  political,  social  and  religious  beliefs  brought 
upon  him  the  dislike  of  many  who  held  contrary  views.  It  was  a  time  wherein  personal 
idiosyncrasies  were  peculiarly  potent  in  fixing  the  estimate  in  which  a  man  was  held  by  his 
fellow  citizens.  Men  were  often  opposed  in  some  projects  because  their  opinions  on 
irrelevant  matters  were  not  endorsed.  Fitch  encountered  such  opposition. 

250 


68. — A  later  picture  of  Fitch’s  third  boat.  No  contemporary  illustration  is  known.  First  steamboat  and  first  steam  vehicle  of 

any  sort  employed  in  the  business  of  transportation.  It  made  a  trial  trip  of  20  miles  in  1788,  and  in  1790  ran  moie  than 
1,000  miles  on  the  Delaware  River  in  accordance  with  advertisements  printed  in  the  Philadelphia  newspapers.  The  date  on 
the  reproduced  engraving  is  an  error. 


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A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


called  the  Rumseyian  Society  was  organized  to  further  his 
claims  as  the  inventor  of  the  steamboat.  The  Rumseyian 
Society,  at  a  little  later  date,  attempted  before  various 
state  legislatures  to  obtain  the  repeal  of  laws  favorable  to 
Fitch,  but  without  effect. 

In  order  to  protect  the  interests  of  himself  and  his 
company  Fitch  was  compelled  to  collect  evidence  concern¬ 
ing  the  claims  of  Rumsey,  and  to  take  part  in  a  war  of 
pamphlets  in  defense  of  his  work.1  This  consumed  some 
time,  and  in  addition  the  inventor  went  to  New  York, 
where  Congress  was  in  session,  to  present  a  memorial  to 
that  body.  The  petition2  said  among  other  things:  “Have- 
ing  overcome  every  difficulty  that  ocationed  doubts  to 
arise,  and  having  done  what  was  never  done  before,  (The 
world  has  been  worrying  against  the  stream  this  six  thou¬ 
sand  years)  but  we  have  exhibited  to  the  World  a  Vessel 
going  against  strong  winds  and  Tides,  without  sails,  or 
men  to  labour;  the  Vessel  carrying  the  Engine,  the  En¬ 
gine  propelling  the  Vessel,  and  all  moveing  together 
against  the  Currents.”  The  report  of  the  committee  of 
Congress  on  the  petition  was  favorable,  but  no  action  by 
the  whole  body  was  taken. 

After  his  return  to  Philadelphia  Fitch  resumed  work 
on  the  engine  and  the  company  bought  a  large  boat  in 

1  Virginia,  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania  had  passed  acts  in  1784  and  1785  giving 
Rumsey  rights  in  his  pole  boat,  and  the  action  of  the  same  states,  at  a  later  date,  in 
recognizing  Fitch  as  the  inventor  of  a  method  of  propelling  boats  by  steam  power  indicate 
there  was  no  conflict  in  the  systems  of  propulsion  devised  by  the  two  men.  Had  there 
been  such  duplication  Fitch  could  not  have  received  the  rights  granted  to  him.  There 
being  no  central  patent  office,  the  several  states  settled  such  questions  of  priority  and 
privilege. 

The  original  pamphlets  of  Rumsey  and  Fitch,  published  in  1788,  are  now  very  rare, 
but  their  text  is  reprinted  in  O’Callaghan’s  “Documentary  History  of  New  York.  An 
analysis  of  the  statements  they  contain,  together  with  a  chronology  of  the  dispute,  are 
also  to  be  found  in  Westcott’s  “Life.”  A  study  of  them  will  be  of  value  to  those  inter¬ 
ested  in  the  subject.  Rumsey  succeeded  in  moving  a  boat  by  steam  at  the  rate  of  about 
three  miles  an  hour  in  December  of  1787,  and  in  1788  he  went  to  England,  where  he 
afterward  died.  His  English  associates  built  a  boat  that  was  operated  by  steam  on  the 
Thames  in  1793,  but  was  abandoned.  Woodcroft,  in  his  “History  of  Steam  Navigation, 
refers  to  Rumsey’s  work  in  England. 

2  The  complete  text  is  given  by  Westcott. 

252 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


which  it  was  to  be  installed.  This  craft,  destined  to  be 
the  first  steam  vehicle  of  any  sort  in  the  world  to  make 
regularly  scheduled  and  advertised  trips  for  the  carriage 
of  passengers,  was  forty-five  feet  long  and  twelve  feet 
wide.  The  company  had  desired  to  obtain  a  hull  about 
sixty  feet  in  length  by  eight  feet  beam,  rightly  believing 
such  a  model  would  obtain  greater  speed,  but  was  un¬ 
able  to  do  so.  It  had  also  been  the  inventor’s  intention  to 
use  a  cylinder  of  eighteen  inches  diameter  in  his  engine, 
but  after  one  of  that  size  had  been  cast  it  was  broken  up 
by  mistake.  So  the  old  twelve-inch  cylinder  was  retained. 
At  this  time,  also,  Fitch  made  another  change  in  his 
method  of  propulsion,  substituting  three  or  four  broad 
upright  paddles  at  the  stern  of  the  craft  for  the  twelve 
side  oars.  The  third  boat  with  its  essential  features  as  here 
described  was  completed  late  in  July  of  1788,  and  —  prob¬ 
ably  on  one  of  the  last  days  of  that  month  —  received  its 
first  important  trial.  It  set  out  from  Philadelphia  bear¬ 
ing  Fitch,  Voight  and  a  number  of  others,  and  steamed 
to  Burlington,  a  distance  of  about  twenty  miles. 
When  just  off  Burlington  a  leak  developed  in  the  boiler 
and  the  engine  stopped.  The  crew  dropped  down  the 
stream  with  the  tide  next  day,  and  the  steamboat  was 
the  object  of  scoffing  from  those  in  sailing  craft  on 
the  river. 

The  mishap  which  had  interrupted  the  first  trip  of  the 
inventor’s  third  boat  almost  at  its  conclusion  was  soon 
repaired,  and  several  other  round  trips  to  Burlington  were 
made  during  the  following  weeks.  On  October  12th, 
1788,  the  steamboat  took  thirty  passengers  to  Burlington 
in  three  hours  and  ten  minutes,  aided  by  a  tide  running 
about  two  miles  an  hour.  Probably  the  speed  developed 
by  the  vessel  during  1788  was  some  four  miles  an  hour 

253 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 

in  still  water.  Such  a  slow  rate  of  movement  did  not 
satisfy  Fitch,  who,  despite  the  personal  destitution  to 
which  he  had  long  since  been  reduced,  insistently  de¬ 
manded  more  funds  for  the  boat1  and  continued  his  labor 
in  improving  the  machinery  and  in  repeated  tests  of  the 
vessel  until  the  spring  of  1790.  At  last  he  obtained  a 
combination  of  mechanical  parts  that  worked  success¬ 
fully,  and  on  April  16th  of  1790  made  a  trial  which 
caused  him  to  say  exultantly:  “We  reigned  Lord  High 
Admirals  of  the  Delaware;  and  no  boat  in  the  River 
could  hold  its  way  with  us.  .  .  .  Thus  has  been  effected, 
by  little  Johnny  Fitch  and  Harry  Voight,  one  of  the 
greatest  and  most  useful  arts  that  has  ever  been  introduced 
into  the  world;  and  although  the  world  and  my  country 
does  not  thank  me  for  it,  yet  it  gives  me  heartfelt  satis¬ 
faction.”2 

A  number  of  other  equally  successful  voyages  soon 
followed,  and  for  the  first  time  public  and  newspaper 
attention  was  attracted  to  the  invention.  Governor  Mif¬ 
flin  and  numerous  state  and  city  officials  were  passengers 
on  June  16th,  and  were  so  impressed  that  they  had  Fitch 
buy  a  set  of  flags  at  their  expense.  A  cabin  was  built  for 
passengers  in  the  forward  part  of  the  craft,  and  at  a  for¬ 
mal  test  made  by  the  aid  of  stop-watches  the  speed  of  the 
boat  was  found  to  be  eight  miles  an  hour.3  Soon  after¬ 
ward  it  covered  eighty  miles  in  a  day  and  was  then  put 
into  commission  as  a  regular  passenger  boat  on  the  Dela¬ 
ware,  making  trips  in  accordance  with  advertisements 
previously  printed  in  the  local  newspapers.  The  first 
of  these  advance  notices  of  the  steamboat’s  trips  had  ap- 

1  About  $S,000  had  been  expended  up  to  the  winter  of  1788. 

2  The  spot  on  the  river-front  where  Fitch  had  so  long  labored  had  come  to  be  known, 
as  “Conjurer’s  Point.” 

3  Thornton’s  “Short  Account  of  the  Origin  of  Steamboats”:  p.  5. 

254 


Iivmv  4  WS&  ■  *  dRfewIbw  ~~  . 

'«$  >  ^ /  * '  yti.:  o  *»*,{  yfy  vV-%  %  '<,&#>. 


' 


:-4,  &  1W": 


IS 


Mr.  Cornell*  fvmn  mtzvpw&i  m'  btont  4  thgfr^ngm*. 

»fl  which  the  Creeps  gave  «li  audible  to ^ncoarage  American  Inge *t«|t§te4 

mm.  :,.  ,  5 ,  a ,;■;  w  $*Bm  W*h 

:.  The  Ptefidett.  >*hen  %iie4  .the  '  of  *he  mdk %mpos  *««^wrg 
treaty— -after  which  he  prefen  ted  a  and  v/illcer»mly  make  his  forty  n< 
firing  of  beads  as  a  token  of  perpe-  I  am  told  ht  $$«  bow  in  contempfjf 
tuai  peace,  and  a  paper  of  tobacco  tioit  to  build  a  fteam  veflej  on  u  he 
to  fmoke  in  remembrance  of  it }  Mr .  fettle,  which  m ay  be  capable  of  c 
M^Giilivray  role,  made  a  flwrt  reply  tying  Might*  m  •  paffengers  to  _ 
to  the  Pitfidem,  and  received. Wefe^Wki,;  md  tym  to  Europe, 
tokens.  One  great  advantage  f  fefft  forefe*  in 

This  .was  fuccecded  by  .  the  fhab  '  thefe  voyage  which  is»,  that  ' 


J*refident ;  a  Jong  of  peatx.pc.rformcd  tWeis..  How  (he  would  bettfe% 
by  the  Creeks,  concluded  Ms  highly  a  gale  of  w  hid  mali.be  Ic%  to 
jacereftrag,  lakmn,  and  ,  dtgnihed  ehce  todectrmine.  H 
.tranfacHon.  Vfel&Jc  ^  1  *•■•./  T'>  ?  v  jnaib  or  top- hamper  J  to.  lay 

l  Jug.  16*  Lrii  Thurfday  evening  '  fend  under,  it  is  probable  Ibe 
the  St.  Andrew*!  Society  of  (before  at  feel  time  be  in  great 
.of  Hew -York  held  their  quarterly  %fg.  to.  On  the  M;| 

meeting  at  the  City -Tavern,  The  Traleesof  the  College  of  Phtkdel-  % 

Society,  anxious  of  /hewing  their  re-  phfe  defied  the  Hon.  judge  Wil^m  I 

fectl  to  theapagfeler  of  Col.  M*Gil~  Prafepbr  of  Law  in  -that  inftkutton, 

Jtvray  *  ad^^E^^elves  of  his  pre -  and  we  hear  that  he  i n te ndb  to  4 el iwiSr 

Pence"  in  this  untBimoafly  a  coorfe  of  leflures  in  that  important 

defied  hyn  an  honorary  member  of  branch  of  education. 

,  the  Society,  and  immediately  after  a  Quere.  Whether  there  h  mt  an  m~ 

committee  was  appointed  to  eondudl  propriety  Both  m  fleeting  a  J  udg&  te 
him  to  it.  a  Profejfdrjhipi  and in  ha  accepting  it  f 

Jug.  tj.  On  Sunday  embarked  Jug.  zi.  His  Excellency  the  Prc> 
onboard  one  of  the  Packets,  on  a  fi4ie^c^ 

vifit  to RhodC'lfhnd,  his  Excellency  jjty  from  Rhode 4lf«mdL  •  '  .J 

■  the  Prefuient  of.  the  United  States,  '  On  Thurfday  the  tqth  - 

the  Secretary  of  State,  Gov.  Clinton,  barked  for  St.  Mary’s  river,  m  Gear*- 
judge  Blair,  Col.  Humphreys,  Major  ght,  in  the  Poop  Betfcy, and  le&xxvct “ 
JaeUbn,  and  Mr.  Nehbn,  Experiment,  CdL  Alexander  M*GtL 

Mxtraii  of  a  letter  from  Philadelphia,  limy,  and  the  fevcr.d  fndian  Head* 
Juihft  1  S *  men  gnilAVarriors  who  have  been  tit 

*t  Pkch’a  ftcatn  boat  really  per-  thiiady  for  Ionic  ocskspailauendiBg 
y  ms  ck&tm.  it  is  a  plealure  the  treaty.  Mr.  Swan,  wc  hear,  hit 
f  while  one  js  on.  b»rd  iter  in  a  con-  been  cfiofai  Secretary  to  Col,  M*Gs.L 
-  Wary  mud  krfupcriority  Itvray,  md  has  proceeded  with  that 

*d\z  met  £  .  „  J]  fhips,  officer  to  rcllde  in  the  Indian  ceaniry^ 

;  whftrtt  duii*,  mull  Jug,  ay.  We  are  inferred,  via. 

|  inahe  a  ai§»>ip||  cpw^,  ,MWe  thL,  Bofton,  that  on  the  lothofjano  fail 
fe  IHif  new  imm%m  vt§th  ppcc^lt  in  .  the  Kttmul  Affcmbfy  eJfipkt  dc- 
1-  *  direct  ime.  On  Sunday  mornmg  erred,  *•  Tim  the  HKbnai  Apcm* 
ibr  feltotf  fer  Ckiler,  fed  engages  blv  wear  m  turning  three  diet,  in 
l*  «««  k  tkzpmmg,  %  whole  honour  oj  the  Juic  Thdfi^iPui  and  M 
imk$.  Gf4  1  t|c4B  m  a  iatcet  «£  v»ti4ytfec  be  »c 


-Page  493  of  the  N eiv  York  Magazine  for  1790.  The  printed  account  of 
Fitch’s  steamboat,  beginning  at  the  bottom  of  the  first  column, 
relates  to  the  vessel  last  shown. 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


peared  in  the  Pennsylvania  Packet  of  June  14,  1790, 
and  read : 

THE  STEAMBOAT 

is  now  ready  to  take  passengers,  and  is  intended  to  set  off  from  Arch 
street  P'erry,  in  Philadelphia,  every  Monday,  Wednesday,  and  Friday, 
for  Burlington,  Bristol,  Bordentown,  &  Trenton,  to  return  on  Tues¬ 
days,  Thursdays  and  Saturdays.  Price  for  passengers  2/6  to  Burling¬ 
ton  and  Bristol,  3/9  to  Bordentown,  5  s.  to  Trenton. 

tu.-th.  s-tf. 

During  the  summer  and  fall  of  1790  the  boat  ran 
regularly  back  and  forth  between  Philadelphia  and  vari¬ 
ous  towns  on  the  river.  The  Pennsylvania  Packet  and 
Federal  Gazette  newspapers  issued  between  June  14th 
and  September  10th  of  1790  contained  twenty-three  ad¬ 
vertisements  similar  to  the  one  here  quoted,  announcing, 
altogether,  thirty-one  trips  to  different  places.  The  ag¬ 
gregate  of  the  advertised  trips  amounted  to  thirteen  hun¬ 
dred  and  eighty  miles.  Fitch,  in  his  manuscript  journal, 
says  the  mishaps  were  few.  “The  axle-trees,”  he  men¬ 
tions,  “broke  twice;  there  was  nothing  but  these  accidents 
which  could  not  be  repaired  in  a  single  hour  or  two.  .  .  . 
The  boat  run  five  hundred  miles  between  these  accidents.” 

Numerous  *  accounts  of  the  performances  of  1790, 
either  published  at  the  time  or  written  at  a  later  day  by 
men  who  had  personally  travelled  on  the  boat  or  had  seen 
it  in  operation  during  the  year,  are  available.  The  artist 
Rembrandt  Peale  was  one  who  was  familiar  with  its 
work  during  the  time  in  question,  and  his  memoirs1  de¬ 
scribe  its  appearance  and  movement.  General  Joseph 
Bloomfield,  of  New  Jersey,  testified  before  a  committee  of 
the  New  York  legislature  in  1814  that  he  had  frequently 
been  a  passenger  on  Fitch’s  boat  on  the  Delaware.2  Doc- 

1  Printed  in  the  “Collections  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania,”  Vol.  1,  No.  1. 

2  “New  York  Review,”  Vol.  IV. 


256 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


tor  William  Thornton’s1  pamphlet  gives  the  recital  of  an 
eye-witness  of  and  participant  in  the  steamboat’s  activities. 
“Our  boat,”  he  said,  “went  at  the  rate  of  eight  miles  an 
hour  in  the  presence  of  witnesses  yet  living.”2  The 
French  author  and  traveller,  Brissot  de  Warville,  wrote 
a  description  of  the  third  boat  as  it  appeared  when  he 
saw  it  operated  in  1788,  while  its  speed  was  only  about 
four  miles  an  hour.3  The  most  pretentious  contemporary 
American  notice  of  the  vessel’s  successful  operation  in 
1790  was  published  in  the  New  York  Magazine 4  for  that 
year,  and  was  an  extract  from  a  letter  sent  from  Phila¬ 
delphia.  It  ran: 

“Fitch’s  steamboat  really  performs  to  a  charm.  It  is  a  pleasure, 
while  one  is  on  board  of  her  in  a  contrary  wind,  to  observe  her  supe¬ 
riority  over  the  river  shallops,  sloops,  ships,  etc.,  who,  to  gain  anything, 
must  make  a  zigzag  course,  while  this,  our  new  invented  vessel,  pro¬ 
ceeds  in  a  direct  line.  On  Sunday  morning  she  sets  off  for  Chester,5 
and  engages  to  return  in  the  evening  —  40  miles.  God  willing,  I  in¬ 
tend  to  be  one  of  the  passengers,  were  it  only  to  encourage  American 
ingenuity  and  the  fine  arts.  Fitch  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  ingenious 
creatures  alive,  and  will  certainly  make  his  fortune.  .  . 

The  thing  Fitch  said  he  would  do  had  been  done. 
After  five  years  of  endeavor  the  steamboat  existed,  and 
moved  briskly  over  the  waters  before  the  eyes  of  men. 
Steam  had  been  harnessed  and  applied  to  the  purposes 
of  transportation  and  travel.  A  fourth  boat,6  similar  to 
the  one  which  had  been  running  on  the  Delaware  during 
the  summer,  was  begun  in  order  to  comply  with  the 
Virginia  law.  Under  its  terms  at  least  two  steam  vessels 
had  to  be  in  operation  on  the  waters  of  the  state  by 

1  Thornton  was  a  member  of  Fitch’s  company.  His  account,  written  in  1810  and 
published  in  1818,  is  entitled  “Short  Account  of  the  Origin  of  Steamboats.” 

2  United  States  Patent  Office  Report  for  1850;  Part  I,  pp.  368-372. 

3  “A  Recent  Journey  in  the  United  States  of  North  America,  Made  in  1788.” 
Paris,  1791. 

4  Page  493.  Photographically  reproduced  in  this  work. 

B  The  regular  Sunday  trips  of  the  boat  throughout  the  summer  of  1790  were  to 
Chester  or  Burlington.  They  were  somewhat  in  the  nature  of  popular  excursions. 

6  It  was  fittingly  named  the  “Perseverance.” 

25  7 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


November  9th,  1790,  and  the  time  in  which  to  comply 
with  the  requirement  and  secure  a  monopoly  of  steam 
transportation  on  all  Virginia  waters  was  short.  Unfore¬ 
seen  disaster  destroyed  the  plans  of  the  company.  The 
Perseverance,  when  nearly  completed,  was  torn  from  her 
moorings  by  a  violent  storm  and  thrown  at  high  tide  on 
an  island  in  the  river  from  which  it  was  impossible  to 
remove  her  until  too  late  to  fulfill  the  conditions  under 
which  Virginia’s  privileges  had  been  granted. 

The  loss  of  the  Virginia  monopoly  came  as  a  crushing 
blow  to  Fitch’s  associates,  for  upon  it  had  been  based  their 
principal  expectations  of  future  profit.  And  so,  at  the 
very  outset  of  success,  the  faint-hearted  company  finally 
crumbled  to  pieces.  The  inventor  alone  held  up  his 
courage.  He  at  once  petitioned  the  Commissioners  of 
Patents  to  grant  him  exclusive  rights  in  steam  navigation 
for  a  limited  time;  originated  a  plan  to  put  boats  on  the 
Mississippi  under  the  patronage  of  Spain,  and  chided  his 
former  supporters  in  a  letter  in  which* he  said: 

“After  the  many  thousands  which  you  have  expended  to  bring  for¬ 
ward  the  most  useful  art  that  was  ever  introduced  into  the  World,  and 
even  after  you  have  perfected  it,  it  seems  that  you  are  amazed  at  what 
you  have  done,  and  lost  in  contemplating,  in  thinking,  how  the  world 
will  gaze  on  the  virtuous  Few  who  have  so  nobly  and  liberally  ren¬ 
dered  such  essential  service  to  their  Nation. 

“We  had  to  explore  an  unbeaten  path,  and  did  not  ascertain  the  true 
course  until  we  had  wandered  into  a  thousand  wrong  Rodes. 

“I  have  given  my  country  a  most  valuable  discovery,  on  the  30  of 
August,  1785,  for  which  I  have  received  no  compensation;  and  I  doubt 
not  but  common  justice  will  induce  them  to  do  something  for  me;  espe¬ 
cially  when  they  can  do  it  for  the  benefit  of  our  Empire. 

“Another  inducement  which  urges  me  to  persue  this  scheme  is,  to 
put  it  out  of  the  power  of  future  Generations  to  make  excuses  for  the 
present  one  .  .  .” 

In  his  long  petition1  to  the  national  officials  asking  for 


258 


1  Given  in  its  entirety  by  Westcott. 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


the  sole  right  to  employ  steamboats  on  all  the  waters  of 
the  country  Fitch,  “having,”  as  he  affirmed,  “at  length 
fully  succeeded  in  his  scheme,  proof  of  which  he  is  pre¬ 
pared  to  oiler,  he  trusts  he  now  comes  forward,  not  as 
an  imaginary  projector,  but  as  a  man  who,  contrary  to 


70. — Fitch’s  fifth  boat.  His  fourth  was  wrecked  by  a  storm  when  nearly  com¬ 
pleted.  The  fifth  beat  was  a  screw  propeller,  operated  on  Collect  Pond, 
New  York  City,  in  1796  or  1797.  Its  hull  was  a  ship’s  yawl,  and  the  craft 
was  an  experiment  in  the  inventor’s  work  for  the  better  application  of 
steam  power.  A  model  of  one  of  Fitch’s  steamboats,  later  made  by  one  of 
his  assistants,  is  in  the  New  York  Historical  Society’s  collections. 


the  popular  expectation,  has  really  accomplished  a  design 
which  on  examination  will  clearly  evince  the  many  and 
important  advantages  which  must  result  therefrom  to 
the  United  States.  .  .  ,m 

All  active  effort  to  carry  on  the  work  of  building  and 
running  steamboats  seems  to  have  been  abandoned  in 
1791.  Biddle’s  Philadelphia  Directory  for  the  year  men¬ 
tioned,  published  in  May,  contained  the  following  entry: 

“Fitch,  John,  owner  of  the  steamboat,  462  No.  Second  St.” 

A  picture  of  the  affairs  of  the  company  and  of  Fitch’s 
destitution  at  that  time  was  afterward  written  by  Thomas 

1  Letters  patent  for  the  steamboat  were  granted  by  the  government  to  Fitch  on  April 
23,  1791,  and  formally  issued  to  him  in  a  signed  document  on  August  26.  Exclusive  privi¬ 
leges  were  refused.  Thomas  Jefferson,  whom  Fitch  had  violently  antagonized,  was  one  of 
the  Patent  Commissioners. 


259 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


P.  Cope,  of  Philadelphia,1  who  lived  in  the  city  during 
the  building  of  the  steamboats. 

“I  often  witnessed  the  performance  of  the  boat  in  1788,  ’89  and 
’90,”  reads  the  narrative.  “It  was  propelled  by  paddles  in  the  stern,  and 
constantly  getting  out  of  order.  I  saw  it  when  it  was  returning  from  a 
trip  to  Burlington,  from  whence  it  was  said  to  have  arrived  in  little 
more  than  two  hours.  When  coming  to  off  Kensington,  some  part  of 
the  machinery  broke,  and  I  never  saw  it  in  motion  afterward.  I  believe 
it  was  his  last  effort.  .  .  .  Indeed,  they  [the  company]  already 

rendered  themselves  the  subjects  of  ridicule  and  derision,  for  their 
temerity  and  presumption  in  giving  countenance  to  this  wild  projector 
and  visionary  madman.  The  company  thereupon  gave  up  the  ghost,  the 
boat  went  to  pieces,  and  Fitch  became  bankrupt  and  broken-hearted. 
Often  have  I  seen  him  stalking  about  like  a  troubled  spectre,  with  down¬ 
cast  eye  and  lowering  countenance,  his  coarse  soiled  linen  peeping 
through  the  elbows  of  a  tattered  garment.  During  the  days  of  his  aspir¬ 
ing  hopes,  two  mechanics  were  of  sufficient  daring  to  work  for  him. 

.  These  were  Peter  Brown,  shipsmith,  and  John  Wilson,  Boat 
builder.  .  .  .  From  Wilson  I  derived  the  following  anecdote: 

Fitch  called  to  see  him  as  usual  —  Brown  happened  to  be  present. 
Fitch  mounted  his  hobby,  and  became  unusually  eloquent  in  the  praise 
of  steam,  and  of  the  benefits  which  mankind  were  destined  to  derive 
from  its  use  in  propelling  boats  .  .  .  After  indulging  himself  for 

some  time  in  this  never  failing  topic  of  deep  excitement,  he  concluded 
with  these  memorable  words:  ‘Well,  gentlemen,  although  I  shall  not 
live  to  see  the  time,  you  will,  when  steamboats  will  be  preferred  to  all 
other  means  of  conveyance,  and  especially  for  passengers ;  and  they  will 
be  particularly  useful  in  the  navigation  of  the  River  Mississippi.’  He 
then  retired ;  on  which  Brown,  turning  to  Wilson,  exclaimed,  in  a  tone 
of  deep  sympathy,  ‘Poor  fellow!  What  a  pity  he  is  crazy.’  ” 

In  1793  Fitch  went  to  France.2  He  had  previously 
met  in  Philadelphia  a  man  named  Aaron  Vail,  the  United 
States  consul  to  L’Orient,  France,  who  became  interested 
in  the  steamboat  and  proposed,  on  his  return  to  his  official 
post,  to  secure  patents  and  build  such  vessels  under 
French  laws.  Fitch  had  bound  himself  to  send  over  to 
Europe  a  man  competent  to  construct  the  proposed  craft, 


1  To  be  found  in  Hazard’s  “Register  of  Pennsylvania,”  Vol.  vii,  under  the  signature  of 
“Epoc.”  [Cope]. 

2  See  Thornton’s  “Short  Account”;  William  A.  Duer’s  “A  Reply  to  C.  D.  Colden’s 
Vindication,”  1819;  Watson’s  “Annals  of  Philadelphia”;  Whittelsey’s  “Life,”  etc. 

260 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


and  having  no  one  to  whom  he  might  delegate  the  duty, 
went  himself.  He  arrived  during  a  time  when  all  ordi¬ 
nary  enterprises  were  at  a  standstill,1  and  finding  it  im¬ 
possible  to  proceed  with  the  contemplated  design,  left 
his  steamboat  drawings,  plans  and  specifications  in 
the  hands  of  Vail,  who  was  established  as  a  merchant  in 
L’Orient,  and  came  back  to  America  by  way  of  England. 

Little  of  Fitch’s  work  remains  to  be  told.  He  lived 
in  Philadelphia  and  New  York  City  until  late  in  1797 
or  early  in  1798,  and  seems  still  to  have  been  intent  in 
perfecting  the  method  of  steam  transportation.  In  1851 
John  Hutchings,  of  New  York,  published  a  broadside" 
describing  an  experiment  that  Fitch  made  with  a  steam¬ 
boat  on  Collect  Pond,  New  York  City,3  either  in  1796 
or  1797,  and  in  which  Hutchings,  then  a  youth,  assisted 
him.  The  boat  was  a  ship’s  yawl,  and  was  moved  by  a 
steam-engine  turning  a  screw  propeller  at  the  stern.  It 
also  had  revolving  paddles  of  the  modern  type  at  the 
sides. 

At  last  Fitch  ceased  the  hopeless  struggle.  In  order 
that  he  might  no  longer  hear  the  laughter  of  his  fellow 
men  he  went  out  into  the  Kentucky  wilderness,  apart 
from  bickering  and  jeers,  and  there,  in  a  quiet  and  unob¬ 
trusive  way  made  an  end  of  his  troubled  life.4  Yet  even 
amid  the  primeval  woods,  during  the  few  final  months, 
his  mind  and  fingers  were  busy  with  the  work  which  had 
engrossed  him.  He  built  of  brass  a  strange  contrivance 
some  three  feet  long  that  was  found  after  his  death,  and 
is  illustrated  among  these  pages.  Although  it  has  a  smoke¬ 
stack  with  an  elbow  at  the  top,  apparently  designed  with 

1  The  French  Revolution  was  in  progress. 

2  Reprinted  in  O’Callaghan’s  “Documentary  History  of  New  York.” 

3  The  pond  was  on  the  present  site  of  the  Tombs  prison,  Center  Street. 

*  He  saved  many  small  narcotic  pills,  prescribed  s  ngly  by  a  doctor  for  some  trivial 
ailment,  and  swallowed  them  all  at  once.  His  death  took  place  in  June  or  July  of  1798. 

261 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


the  idea  of  preventing  a  downward  draught  while  mov¬ 
ing  at  high  speed  against  the  wind,1  and  though  the 
engine  rested  on  a  rectangular  truck  with  four  solid  and 
flanged  wheels,2  this  model  of  a  steam-engine  has  always 
been  discussed  as  one  for  a  steamboat  mechanism.  A 
St.  Louis  newspaper3  of  1854,  while  the  original  model 
was  in  that  city,  said : 

“It  was  evidently  thus  arranged  for  the  purpose  of  exhibiting  the 
power  of  steam  in  propelling  boats,  and  was  constructed  on  a  railway 
immersed  in  a  trough  of  the  proper  depth  for  the  paddles  to  strike  th$ 
water,  and  when  the  motion  was  given,  the  wheels  would  guide  it  along 
the  submerged  railway.” 

The  theory  here  expounded,  and  since  accepted  by 
those  who  have  known  of  Fitch’s  last  model  or  seen 
it,  appears  questionable  when  considered  in  connection 
with  what  had  already  been  done  by  the  man  who 
designed  and  built  it.  Fitch  had  not  found  it  necessary, 
in  proving  that  steam  could  be  used  in  moving  a  boat, 
to  drag  down  the  hull  by  a  wheeled  truck  and  keep 
the  whole  fabric  on  a  submerged  track  along  which  it 
should  move  in  a  straight  line.  The  added  weight  of 
truck  and  wheels,  and  the  friction  of  wheels  on  sub¬ 
merged  rails  would  retard  the  progress  of  the  boat,  if 
motive  power  was  imparted  to  paddles  alone.  In  prac¬ 
tise  the  laying,  maintaining  and  repairing  of  such  a  track 
would  not  be  possible.  River  bottoms  do  not  lend  them¬ 
selves  to  such  a  method  of  transportation.  In  deep  water 
the  wooden  hull  would  either  float  the  wheels  off  the 
track  or  else  the  wheeled  underbody  would  pull  the  hull 
down,  with  unpleasant  consequences  to  crew  and  passen- 

1  The  same  idea  was  suggested  for  railroad  locomotives  a  half  century  afterward. 
When  the  early  lithographer  made  the  picture  reproduced  in  this  work  he  showed  the 
smoke-stack  elbow  pointed  forward!  Doubtless  the  whole  stack  had  been  twisted  around. 

2  With  the  wheels  inside  the  truck,  as  some  early  railway  engines  and  cars  were  first 
constructed. 

*  The  “Democrat.” 


262 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


71. — Last  known  handiwork  of  Fitch,  made  in  Kentucky  a  short  time  before  his 
death,  in  1798.  The  model  of  a  steam-engine  is  of  brass  and  has  a  truck 
and  flanged  wheels  to  enable  it  to  run  on  rails.  If  it  operated  successfully 
it  was  a  miniature  steam  railway  locomotive.  When  in  possession  of  the 
St.  Louis  Mercantile  Library,  in  1854,  the  model  was  considered  to  be  that 
of  a  steamboat  engine. 


gers.  In  short,  the  suggestion  that  the  model  under 
consideration  was  designed  as  a  practical  appliance  to 
move  a  floating  steamboat  apparently  reduces  itself  to 
an  absurdity. 

Fitch,  by  successive  steps  covering  years  of  time,  had 

263 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


created  the  steamboat  out  of  a  mental  vision.  He  had 
built  such  a  craft  and  operated  it  in  regular  advertised 
traffic  for  months  at  a  stretch,  covering  a  thousand  miles 
or  more  at  the  rate  of  from  six  to  eight  miles  an  hour. 
He  had  solved  that  particular  problem,  and  his  whole 
habit  of  mind  while  engaged  in  his  work  had  always  ex¬ 
hibited  a  steady  process  of  progression  toward  something 
a  little  better  and  more  practical.  Yet  his  last  thoughts 
regarding  the  application  of  steam  power  to  travel  and 
transportation  found  their  expression  in  an  engine  resting 
on  a  rectangular  truck  and  moving  over  rails  on  four 
flanged  wheels.  He  had  said: 

“Neither  do  I  conceive  that  all  the  Improvements 
that  are  yet  to  be  made  on  steam  are  to  be  done  on  the 
water.”  It  is  perhaps  possible  to  believe  that  he  took 
the  one  last  forward  step;  that  he  saw  the  railroad  of 
the  future  just  as  he  had  seen  the  steamboat,  and  in  the 
American  wilderness,  in  1798,  built  in  miniature  the  first 
free  moving,  railway  steam  locomotive  created  by  the 
brain  and  hand  of  man.  The  model  was  in  existence  a 
few  years  ago,  and  if  it  still  remains  intact  a  competent 
examination  and  test  of  it  under  its  own  power  on  a 
railway  track  might  finally  determine  the  purpose  for 
which  it  was  built. 

The  many  letters  and  utterances  of  Fitch  show  he 
had  a  clear  comprehension  of  the  service  he  had  per¬ 
formed,  and  that  his  chief  impulse  was  the  accomplish¬ 
ment  of  his  task  for  “the  benefit  of  our  Empire.”  While 
his  fellow  men,  still  dazed  at  the  discovery  of  their  own 
independence,  stood  looking  backward  into  the  past 
like  a  boy  who  gazes  awestruck  into  the  chasm  he  has 
leaped,  Fitch  looked  into  the  coming  years  and  saw  what 
they  were  yet  to  do.  But  his  arguments,  pleadings  and 

264 


a*’ 


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WRITTEN  IN  1810, 


By  W.  THORNTON, 

Of  the  City  of  Washington* 


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72.— Early  literature  relating  to  travel  in  America.  Title  page  of  Thornton’s 
pamphlet  in  description  of  Fitch’s  boats.  Thornton  was  a  member  of  Fitch’s 
company  in  Philadelphia,  when  the  vessels  were  built  and  operated. 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


demonstrations  were  necessarily  without  effect.  The  .col¬ 
lective  popular  opinion  of  a  newly  created  state  resem¬ 
bles  in  many  ways  the  mentality  of  an  individual  in  the 
early  period  of  self-consciousness.  Some  things  are  be¬ 
yond  its  comprehension. 

A  knowledge  of  what  Fitch  did  has  been  easy  of 
access.  The  contemporary  records,  some  of  which  are 
here  reproduced,  have  been  open  for  men  to  read.  Yet  it 
has  been  the  custom  to  dismiss  him,  in  discussing  the  de¬ 
velopment  of  steam  travel  in  America,  by  saying  he  lived 
before  his  time.  The  expression  is  a  familiar  one,  often 
adopted  by  a  people  for  application  to  such  a  case  in  an 
effort  to  rid  themselves  of  responsibility  and  place  the 
blame  where  they  wish  it  might  belong  —  on  the  man  who 
had  presumption  to  do  things  his  contemporaries  did  not 
appreciate.  But  the  splendor  of  inspiration  and  original 
creation  is  not  dimmed  by  such  an  artifice.  No  man  is 
born  before  his  time,  for  the  days  in  which  he  lives  belong 
to  him,  and  are  the  ones  that  witness  the  performance  of 
his  labor.  If  what  he  offers  is  not  accepted  by  his  fellow 
men  it  is  not  because  he  is  before  his  time,  but  because  they 
refuse  to  walk  beside  him  and  accept  the  years  of  advance¬ 
ment  that  lie  within  his  gift.  The  greater  loss  is  theirs; 
not  his.  So  it  was  in  this  case,  and  so  passes  the  last  indi¬ 
vidual  figure  of  the  story.  Fitch  was  a  genius  cursed  with 
a  knowledge  of  the  greatness  of  his  own  derided  achieve¬ 
ment.  There  can  be  no  fate  more  sad  than  that. 

It  is  idle  to  consider  what  would  have  happened  if 
men  of  power  had  fought  with  one  another  for  the  privi¬ 
lege  of  aiding  him  and  enriching  themselves,  as  would  be 
the  case  in  like  circumstance  to-day.  Had  that  thing  hap¬ 
pened  the  whole  country  east  of  the  Mississippi  would 
probably  have  been  overrun  by  the  aid  of  steam  some 

266 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


twenty  or  twenty-five  years  before  it  was  conquered  in  that 
way,  with  resultant  consequences  on  all  social  and 
economic  progress,  both  in  America  and  the  world,  which 
forbid  speculation.  Fitch’s  method  of  travel  was  laughed 
aside,  but  did  not  die.  It  slept. 


CHAPTER  XVI 


THE  AGE  OF  THE  FLATBOAT,  ARK  AND  KEEL-BOAT  BEGINS  — 
EFFECT  OF  THE  OPENING  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  TERRI¬ 
TORY  —  A  MILLION  PEOPLE  DRIFT  THROUGH  THE  IN¬ 
TERIOR —  LIFE  ON  THE  FLATBOATS  —  CONTRASTS  OF 
TRAGEDY  AND  REVEL  —  DESCRIPTIONS  AND  USES  OF 
THE  VARIOUS  CRAFT  BY  WHICH  THE  FIRST  GENERAL 
TRAVEL  TO  THE  OHIO  COUNTRY  AND  MIDDLE  WEST 
WAS  ACCOMPLISHED 

THE  era  of  the  flatboat,  ark  and  keel-boat  had  already 
begun.  With  the  passage  of  the  Northwest  Ordi¬ 
nance  by  the  Congress  of  the  Confederation  in  1787  the 
territory  now  included  in  the  states  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illi¬ 
nois,  Michigan  and  Wisconsin  was  thrown  open  to  set¬ 
tlement,  and  a  general  public  interest  in  the  immense  re¬ 
gion  beyond  the  mountains  and  the  Ohio  River  swept 
through  the  original  seacoast  colonies.  Hundreds  of 
thousands  of  the  population,  to  which  aggregate  each 
state  contributed  a  share,  decided  to  journey  to  the  west¬ 
ern  country  and  set  up  new  homes  in  the  forest.  Prepara¬ 
tions  for  the  migration  affected  every  locality  of  the  East. 
That  part  of  the  interior  toward  which  the  eyes  of  the 
coast  inhabitants  were  now  turned  was  unknown  in  its 
details  to  the  bulk  of  the  people,  though  a  knowledge  of 
its  essential  characteristics  and  the  best  ways  of  getting 
there  had  been  spread  through  the  occupied  areas  by 
means  of  tales  brought  back  by  numerous  frontier  travel- 

268 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


73. — River  travel  before  the  age  of  steamboats.  The  co’ered  keel-boat,  or  barge, 
was  for  many  years  the  principal  river  craft  for  quick  journeys,  espe¬ 
cially  up-stream.  Barges  often  had  sleeping  bunks,  but  passengers  carried 
their  own  bedding.  The  captain  blew  a  horn  at  starting  time.  This  and 
the  illustrations  to  No.  90,  inclusive,  show  the  various  types  of  drifting  and 
man-propelled  boats  used  from  about  1788  until  after  the  general  intro¬ 
duction  of  steamboats,  and  indicate  the  manner  in  which  hundreds  of  thou¬ 
sands  floated  down  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  to  settle  in  the  interior. 

lers.  The  country  was  known  to  be  densely  wooded,  and 
very  fertile  after  the  forest  had  been  swept  away.  It 
could  most  easily  be  reached  by  the  Ohio  River,  which 
traversed  the  border  of  the  region  for  nearly  a  thousand 
miles  and  whose  numerous  tributaries  furnished  routes 
through  the  southern  part  of  the  inviting  lands  for  con¬ 
siderable  distances.  The  northern  section  of  the  terri¬ 
tory  affected  by  the  Ordinance  was  all  but  unknown.  It 
was  not  considered  at  the  beginning  of  the  first  general 
westward  rush  of  the  people,  because  it  could  not  be  pene¬ 
trated.  The  difficulties  and  dangers  of  such  an  attempt 
were  too  great  to  be  wisely  undertaken. 

A  journey  to  the  head  waters  of  the  Ohio,  at  the  time 

269 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


the  Confederation  established  an  organized  government 
for  the  so-called  Northwest  Territory,  no  longer  pre¬ 
sented  peril  to  human  life  and  could  be  made,  in  good 
weather,  without  extreme  hardship.  The  wagon  roads  of 
settled  sections  in  the  East,  together  with  the  system  of 
pack-train  trails  and  wilderness  roads  leading  toward  the 
frontier  from  the  domain  of  busier  highways,  constituted 
available  paths  to  the  upper  Ohio  region  from  every  part 
of  the  Atlantic  coast  between  Connecticut  and  Virginia. 
Things  were  getting  easier.  The  one  human  quality 
essential  in  the  successful  performance  of  the  trip  from 
the  seaboard  to  the  Ohio  was  a  physical  capacity  for  en¬ 
during  exposure  and  hard  work  during  a  period  of  from 
two  to  five  weeks.  All  that  was  required  after  vehicular 
roads  were  left  behind  was  the  organization  of  a  pack- 
train,  and  in  due  course  of  time  the  migrating  bands  —  or 
such  part  of  them  as  did  not  succumb  to  illness  or  acci¬ 
dent  on  the  way  —  climbed  the  last  hill  and  caught  a 
glimpse,  in  the  distance,  of  the  fabled  and  beautiful  river 
thenceforward  to  bear  them  toward  new  lives  and  hab¬ 
itations. 

Arriving  at  Redstone,  Pittsburgh,  or  whatever  other 
settlement  was  the  goal  of  their  overland  travel,  the  west¬ 
ward  movers  established  themselves  in  camp  for  a  period 
of  recuperation,  and  the  men  folk  of  the  party  set  about 
the  work  of  obtaining  transportation  facilities  suitable  for 
their  future  needs.  The  boats  were  sometimes  bought 
ready  built,  but  were  more  often  constructed  by  the  trav¬ 
ellers  themselves1  from  trees  felled  on  the  spot. 

The  curious  craft  destined  to  play  a  large  part  for  a 
generation  in  the  travel  movement  which  populated  the 

1  Especially  in  the  early  stages  of  the  westward  movement  by  water.  After  the  first 
year  or  two  many  axmen  and  carpenters  made  a  regular  business  of  building  boats  and 
keeping  them  in  stock  at  every  river  town. 

270 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


Ohio  and  upper  Mississippi  valleys  were  of  several  types. 
Throughout  thirty  or  forty  years  they  were  extensively 
used,  and  within  that  period  probably  a  million  people 
lived  in  them  for  weeks  at  a  time,  during  journeys  of 
from  three  hundred  to  two  thousand  miles.  They  were 
built  by  tens  of  thousands,  yet  not  one  of  them  remains  as 


74. — The  flatboat,  Ohio-boat  or  Kentucky-boat.  Most  common  type  of  vehicle 
for  river  travel  during  the  population  movements  that  led  to  the  permanent 
occupation  of  the  Mississippi  valley  by  the  whites.  It  was  entirely  enclosed 
and  was,  in  fact,  a  floating  house.  Such  a  boat  was  seldom  pulled  against 
a  current. 


a  memorial  of  the  vehicles  which  bore  so  important  a 
share  in  the  nation’s  expansion.  Roman  galleys  and  ships 
of  the  early  Norsemen  have  been  found  for  modern  eyes 
to  look  upon,  but  there  is  small  chance  for  future  Amer¬ 
icans  ever  to  see  an  example  of  the  quaint  boats  into  which 
men,  women,  children,  horses,  pigs,  chickens,  cows,  dogs, 

271 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


kegs  of  powder,  dishes,  furniture,  boxes  of  provisions  and 
farm  implements  were  all  loaded  and  jumbled  together, 
to  float  down  the  rivers  to  somewhere.  They  resembled 
—  those  unwieldy  vessels  of  such  a  short  time  ago  —  a 
mixture  of  log  cabin,  fort,  floating  barnyard  and  country 
grocery.  At  night,  as  they  drifted  on  the  dark  waters, 
their  loopholes  often  spurted  jets  of  rifle  fire,  while  wom¬ 
en  loaded  the  hot  rifles  of  the  men  in  the  flickering  light 
of  pine  knots  held  by  silent  children,  and  watched  for  the 
answering  shots  of  red  enemies  through  the  mist  that  hid 
them.  By  day,  on  a  more  kindly  voyage,  some  backwoods 
genius  on  the  cabin  roof  would  touch  the  resin  to  his 
fiddle-bow  and  send  the  wild  strains  of  a  hoe-down  to  the 
wooded  shores  and  back  again,  while  the  family  mule 
gave  vent  to  his  emotions  in  a  loud  heehaw,  the  pigs 
squealed,  the  children  shouted  and  danced  to  the  melody 
of  the  combined  orchestra,  and  the  women  rolled  up  the 
bedding,  milked  the  cow,  hung  out  the  wash  and  killed  a 
few  chickens  for  dinner.1  Perhaps  no  other  craft  that 
ever  moved  on  land  or  sea  provided  such  episodes  and 
contrasts,  such  diverse  pictures  of  tragedy  and  revel,  as 
did  the  flatboats  in  which  the  vast  host  of  floating  pil¬ 
grims  travelled  the  interior  rivers  of  America  from  about 
1788  until  as  late  a  date  as  1840. 2 

It  is  desirable  at  this  point  to  refer  to  a  certain  feature 
of  the  narrative  mentioned  at  its  beginning  —  the  chrono¬ 
logical  and  geographical  overlapping  of  periods  of  travel 
movement,  and  the  duplication  of  vehicle  epochs  as  new 
territory  toward  the  west  came  under  the  sway  of  the 

1  A  couple  of  the  older  boys  would  very  likely  be  catching  fish  at  the  same  time. 

3  Although  a  noticeable  part  of  the  westward  migration  to  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi 
valleys  was  carried  on  by  means  of  flatb’oats  until  the  last  named  date,  that  sort  of  travel- 
.  ling  began  to  decline  swiftly  soon  after  the  year  1830.  The  rapid  multiplication  of  steam¬ 
boats  caused  ihe  change.  h'latboats  would  have  disappeared  still  earlier  had  not  the 
flimsy  character  of  western  steamboats  during  the  first  twenty  years  of  their  history  made 
the  use  of  them  so  dangerous. 

272 


75. — A  helmsman  on  a  flatboat,  shouting  a  warning  to  some  one  at  the  other  end  of  the  vessel,  or  to  a  near-by  boat.  Sketch  by 

Joshua  Shaw. 


I 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


white  race.  In  the  conquest  of  a  continent  so  large,  re¬ 
quiring  a  period  of  nearly  two  and  a  half  centuries  for  its 
completion,  it  was  inevitable  that  the  earlier  stages  of  the 
process  should  be  repeated  in  regions  successively  invaded. 
This  was  most  noticeable  during  the  generations  be¬ 
fore  inventive  genius  and  mechanical  appliances  made 
their  appearance  as  predominant  elements  in  the  problem, 
and  was  to  some  extent  true  with  regard  to  the  use  of  large 
timber  boats. 

But  every  method  of  conveyance  arose  to  its  ascend¬ 
ency  at  one  time  or  another,  and  each  one — even  if  it 
played  a  minor  part  either  before  or  after  the  period  of 
its  especial  importance  —  must  be  chiefly  considered  with 
relation  to  the  time  and  events  of  its  greatest  prominence. 
The  long  historical  sequence  of  human  endeavors  that 
were  consciously  aimed  toward  better  methods  of  prog¬ 
ress  over  the  land,  and  were  unconsciously  directed  to¬ 
ward  wider  territorial  dominion,  new  social  conditions 
and  national  unity,  resembled  the  march  of  an  army.  The 
temporary  use  of  some  means  of  locomotion  outside  of  its 
normal  place  in  the  column  of  events  was  but  the  work  of 
a  scouting  party,  not  to  be  unduly  exalted  in  a  chronicle 
of  the  main  campaign.  Previous  generations  could  not 
see  the  whole  process  as  we  may,  nor  observe  the  rela¬ 
tionships  and  effects  of  its  various  stages,  for  they  were  too 
close  to  it;  they  were  themselves  engaged  in  a  work  now 
completed. 

Still  another  phase  of  the  development  of  travel  facil¬ 
ities  that  attracts  attention  in  any  consideration  of  their 
influence  is  the  unusual  manner  by  which,  as  a  rule,  they 
have  advanced  toward  greater  efficiency.  Successive  early 
improvements  in  transportation  are  not  only  classifiable 
by  groups,  but  are  perhaps  unlike  the  correspond- 

274 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


in g  steps  of  any  other  economic  process  because,  in  a 
sense,  they  have  nearly  always  progressed  backward. 
Broadly  speaking,  there  have  thus  far  been  four  general 
phases  of  travel  history  in  America,  to  be  roughly  de¬ 
fined  as  follows : 

First  Period :  During  which  all  travel  was  performed. 


76. — Travellers  on  top  of  a  flatboat.  During  a  long  voyage,  lasting  for  weeks 
or  months,  the  principal  diversions  of  the  emigrants  were  story  telling,  sing¬ 
ing,  and  dancing  on  the  upper  deck  to  the  accompaniment  of  the  universal 
fiddle.  A  ladder  or  flight  of  steps  led  down  into  the  interior. 

when  possible,  through  the  utilization  of  natural  water¬ 
ways  and  in  the  most  primitive  craft. 

Second  Period:  Distinguished  by  the  extensive  use  of 
prior  overland  routes — the  Indian  trails — and  the  crea¬ 
tion  of  other  land  roads  by  white  men. 

Third  Period:  Characterized  by  the  elaboration  of 
earlier  vehicles  for  both  land  and  water  travel;  such  con- 

275 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


veyances  being  moved  either  by  manual  labor,  animals, 
the  wind,  or  natural  water  currents. 

Fourth  Period:  In  which  both  boats  and  land  vehi¬ 
cles,  of  types  already  existing,  were  for  the  first  time  pro¬ 
pelled  by  mechanical  power  generated  within  the  convey¬ 
ances  themselves.  During  this  cycle,  which  still  prevails, 
the  boats  and  land  carriages  have  gradually  been  in¬ 
creased  in  size  and  altered  in  form. 

No  sharply  defined  lines  emphasized  these  epochs,  for 
there  have  been  times  when  all  of  them  have  prevailed  at 
once,  though  in  widely  separated  parts  of  the  land.  Un¬ 
til  very  recent  days  it  has  almost  always  been  the  case  that 
at  least  two  of  the  periods  existed  simultaneously  some¬ 
where  within  the  limits  of  the  country,  either  in  the  same 
locality  while  earlier  conditions  were  giving  way  to  later 
ones,  or  in  adjacent  regions.  But  every  section  of  the 
continent  has  witnessed  the  arrival  and  progress  of  all 
four  eras  in  some  degree  at  least,  always  in  the  procession 
here  indicated  and  in  orderly  advancement  from  the  East 
toward  the  West. 

The  conditions  that  have  so  often  resulted  in  the  bet¬ 
terment  of  travel  facilities  by  means  of  a  retrogressive 

method  are  due  to  a  relation  which  has  necessarily  pre- 

* 

vailed  between  vehicles  themselves  and  the  roadways  on 
which  they  move.  No  means  of  travel  can  attain  its  ut¬ 
most  value  unless  the  conveyance  and  its  highway,  of 
whatever  sort,  are  mutually  fitted  fo<r  one  another  to  the 
greatest  possible  degree.  But  since  mankind  cannot  devise 
or  perfect  a  path  for  what  does  not  exist,  or  else  has  no 
inducement  to  do  so,  it  has  generally  happened  that  a  new 
transportation  conveyance  has  appeared  before  there  was 
a  fit  road  for  it. 

A  visible  improvement  has  often  waited,  either  in 

276 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


actual  disuse  or  limited  utility,  until  the  generation  in 
which  it  appeared  turned  back  and  perfected  some  earlier 
feature  of  the  existing  transportation  system,  or  else  added 
another  to  it,  in  order  to  apply  successfully  and  widely 
the  new  device  to  public  need.1 

The  appearance  of  wheeled  vehicles  forced  the  trans¬ 
formation  of  tote-paths  and  pack-train  routes  into  wagon 
roads,  and  as  fast  as  dirt  highways  were  built  the  wagons 
multiplied  and  compelled  still  farther  extension  of  such 
avenues  of  travel.  The  early  stage-coaches  showed  the 
necessity  of  abandoning  dirt  roads  in  favor  of  turnpikes 
with  a  permanent  stone  surface,  and  resulted  in  their  crea¬ 
tion.  The  general  introduction  of  steamboats  on  the  in¬ 
terior  waterways  forced  governmental  control  and  im¬ 
provement  of  the  rivers  in  order  that  their  safe  naviga¬ 
tion,  not  previously  possible,  might  be  obtained.  Rail¬ 
way  locomotives  were  to  be  of  limited  value  and  slight 
use  until  proper  road  beds,  after  long  experiment,  could 
be  made  for  them.  And  to-day  the  same  sort  of  progress 
is  being  forced  by  motor-cars.  They  constitute  an  impulse 
compelling  the  tardy  creation  of  improved  highways 
worthy  of  the  name,  and  which  will  be  limited  only  by 
the  nation’s  boundaries. 

While  the  years  from  about  1788  to  1880  were  the 
ones  witnessing  the  ascendency  of  big,  unwieldy  timber 
boats  as  travel  vehicles  on  the  interior  rivers  of  the  coun¬ 
try,  it  is  nevertheless  true  that  similar  craft  had  for  a  long 
time  been  a  familiar  means  of  human  transport  on  sev¬ 
eral  widely  separated  streams  in  the  old  colonies.2  It 

1  The  canal  building  period  was  a  confirmation  of  the  common  rule  of  progress  rather 
than  a  contradiction  of  it.  It  is  true  that  in  the  creation  of  a  canal  the  track  is  made 
before  the  vehicle  known  as  a  canal  boat  appears,  but  the  making  of  a  canal  is  nothing 
but  the  construction  of  an  artificial  river  in  which  the  roadway  is  a  safe,  unobstructed 
track  for  conveyances  —  water  craft  —  that  already  exist.  And  in  its  early  form  the 
canal  boat  was  only  a  modified  type  of  a  certain  kind  of  river  vessel. 

2  Perhaps  the  earliest  reference  to  such  vessel  is  to  be  found  in  Thomas  Budd’s. 
“Account”  of  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey:  1685. 

277 


flreen  P 


.77. — Sample  page  from  one  of  the  chart-books  used  by  a  flatboat  family  for 
guidance  while  descending  the  Ohio  or  Mississippi.  The  continuous  line 
indicates  the  best  course  for  a  flatboat  on  the  Ohio  between  Evansville, 
Indiana,  and  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash.  From  Cummings’  “Western  Pilot.” 


A /HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 

therefore  happened  that  when  the  general  tide  of  west¬ 
ward  travel  began  immediately  after  1787,  the  various 
sorts  of  existing  eastern  river  vessels  were  extensively  in- 


I 


Directions  for  Map  No.  17. — Ohio  River . 

Green  River,  left  side. . . . 

Channel  near  the  opposite  shore.  At  a  middling  stage  of  water  keep 
we!  to  the  right  to  avoid  the  rocks  below  its  mouth. 

Green  River  Islands,  (channel  to  the  left.) 

e  one  is  hardly  visible ;  tbe 
chute  to  the  left  is  nearly  grown  over  with  timber.  The  other  lies 
in  the  middle  of  the  river  along,  side  of  the  large  one,  and  about  a  mile 
below  its  head.  In  low  water  you  must  run  the  point  of  the  bar  that 
makes  up  from  the  head  of  the  island  in  the  middle  of  the  river, 
middling  close 'to  avoid  a  shore  bar  on  the  left,  then  keep  down  the 
left  hand  bend  until  near  the  point  opposite  Evansville,  then  keep 
near  the  middle  until  opposite  the  head  of  dry  bar  under  the  point 
on  the  left,  then  go  in  towards  it,  then  turn  and  go  over  towards  the 
steammiill,  below'  the  town. 

.  EVANSVILLE,  right  side . . 

Pigeon  Creek,  right  side _ _ _ 

When  one  an  a  half  miles  below  Pigeon,  at  the  point  and  rocks  on 
the  right,  go  over  to  the  left,  keep  down  near  the  left  shore  to  the  point 
on  the  left;  then  go  into  the  middle  of  the  river,  keep  it  around  the 
point  and  bear  on  the  left  to  avoid  some  rocks  and  logs  in  the  bend  on 
the  right,  under  water.  When  up  wjth  the  right  hand  point  make  a 
long  crossing  to  within  200  yards  of  the  left  shore  opposite  a  house 
€>n  your  left  and  big  bar  on  your  right,  then  straighten  down;  don’t 
go  near  the  shore  until  you  get  300  yards  further  down,  then  keep, 
nearest  that  shore  until  vou  get  to 

HENDERSONVILLE,  left  side . . 


798 


10 


800 1 
807| 


am 


78. — Text  printed  in  Cummings’  “Western  Pilot”  to  accompany  the  particular 
chart  shown  in  the  preceding  illustration.  Similarly  explicit  directions  were 
given,  both  by  illustration  and  text,  for  navigating  each  mile  of  the  river’s 
course. 

troduced  on  the  Mississippi  svstem  of  waters,  together 
with  certain  modifications  of  them.  A  few  new  forms 
better  suited  to  the  larger  streams  and  greater  dangers  of 

1  Eastern  emigrants  to  the  West,  on  reaching  the  Ohio,  at  first  built  the  sort  of  boats 
with  which  they  were  most  familiar. 

279 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


western  navigation  also  appeared.  One  result  of  the  in¬ 
vasion  of  the  interior  by  floating  domestic  establishments 
of  the  period  was  a  confusion  of  the  names  by  which  such 
craft  were  known  in  different  localities.  This  did  not 
matter  at  the  time,  for  everybody  then  understood  the 
differences  or  similarities  between  a  broadhorn,  a  keel- 
boat,  a  Durham  boat  and  an  ark,  as  well  as  a  twentieth 
century  man  knows  what  is  meant  by  street-car,  automo¬ 
bile,  subway  or  aeroplane.  But  the  early  travellers  who 
left  accounts  of  the  first  overrunning  of  the  West  never 
wrote  explanatory  descriptions  designed  for  the  enlight¬ 
enment  of  those  who,  in  the  future,  might  want  to  find 
out  just  how  the  people  undertook  their  long  journeys. 
When  one  of  them  had  occasion  for  mentioning  a  boat  he 
referred  to  it  by  a  name  common  to  one  neighborhood  or 
river,  omitting  to  say  that  the  same  identical  sort  of  craft, 
or  a  type  very  similar,  was  known  elsewhere  by  a  differ¬ 
ent  name.  Nor  did  they  describe  the  floating  homes  of 
the  moving  population  in  careful  detail.  Only  by  the 
comparison  of  various  narratives  and  the  piecing  together 
of  numerous  references  can  the  extensive  river  travel  of 
the  early  West,  as  carried  on  for  about  forty  years,  be  seen 
in  substance  as  it  was.  Any  description  of  it  must  be  a 
composite  picture,  a  mosaic  made  of  many  fragments 
joined  as  best  they  may  be,  with  many  details  gone. 

A  list  of  the  several  kinds  of  non-mechanical  river 
boats  used  during  the  days  when  water  travel  by  means  of 
them  was  at  its  climax,  together  with  a  short  description 
of  each  and  mention  of  its  origin  and  utility  will  illumi¬ 
nate  the  time  and  its  habits.  Such  a  catalogue  may  con¬ 
sequently  be  given. 

The  most  simple  of  the  boats  still  in  use  for  river 
travel  was  the  log  canoe.  It  was  employed  by  one  or  two 

280 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


men,  particularly  when  the  need  of  speed  became  urgent, 
and  could  be  bought  for  three  dollars  or  less. 

A  pirogue1  was  a  very  large  canoe,  often  forty  or  fifty 
feet  long  and  six  or  eight  feet  wide,  capable  of  carrying  a 
family  and  several  tons  of  household  goods.  It  was  some¬ 
times  employed  after  danger  from  Indians  had  ceased,  but 
vulnerability  to  attack  made  it  unpopular  for  long  trips 
on  western  streams  in  the  early  part  of  the  white  inva¬ 
sion.  The  pirogue  cost  from  five  to  twenty  dollars,  ac¬ 
cording  to  size. 

The  skiff  was  a  wide,  flat-bottomed  affair,  made  of 
planks,  similar  to  the  small  pleasure  boat  bearing  the 
same  name  to-day.  It  was  occasionally  used  by  parties  of 
two  or  three  on  long  trips,  but  was  most  commonly  em¬ 
ployed  as  an  attendant  on  the  big  boats  for  use  in  carrying 
their  occupants  to  shore  when  necessary.  The  value  of  a 
skiff  was  about  five  dollars. 

A  batteau  was  a  very  big  skiff  that  bore  to  its  smaller 
brother  the  same  relation  a  pirogue  held  to  a  canoe.  The 
batteau  could  carry  a  family,  cost  from  twenty  to  fifty 
dollars,  and  was  moved  down-stream  by  several  pairs  of 
long  oars  called  sweeps.  Another  sweep  served  as  rudder. 
On  up-stream  trips  it  was  propelled  by  poles. 

The  keel-boat2  received  its  name  because  it  had  at  the 
bottom,  and  extending  for  its  whole  length,  a  heavy  tim¬ 
ber  about  four  inches  wide  and  equally  thick.  The  timber 
was  so  placed  to  take  the  shock  of  a  collision  with  any 
submerged  obstruction.  Stout  planks  served  in  construct¬ 
ing  the  hull.  It  was  usually  from  forty  to  seventy-five 
feet  long,  from  seven  to  nine  feet  wide,  and  carried  a  mast 
and  sails.  One  steersman  and  two  men  at  the  sweeps  could 

1  Sometimes  spelled  peroque  or  perrogue.  Likewise  of  Indian  origin. 

2  It  developed  from  the  batteau.  The  early  illustration  of  boats  on  the  Mohawk 
River  gives  a  good  idea  of  the  appearance  of  one  type  of  keel-boat. 

281 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


navigate  the  keel-boat  down-stream,  but  its  progress 
against  the  current  was  effected  by  the  wind  or  the  labor 
of  men  at  setting-poles.  The  cost  of  such  a  craft  was  from 
$2.50  to  $3.00  for  each  foot  of  its  length.  Keel-boats  were 
extensively  used  on  every  navigable  stream  in  the  country. 
They  originated  in  the  East,  probably  by  independent  de¬ 
velopment  in  several  localities,  and  gradually  assumed 
certain  standard  sizes  and  shapes.  Introduced  on  west¬ 
ern  waters  at  the  outset  of  the  great  migration  which  be¬ 
gan  in  1788,  they  were  long  employed  there  both  in  their 
original  form  and  with  modifications  to  be  related  in 
connection  with  the  barge  and  Ohio  packet-boats.1 

Mohawk  boats  were  the  sort  of  keel-boats  used  on  that 
river,  or  any  similarly  shallow  stream. 

Schenectady  boats  were  Mohawk  keel-boats.  Both 
were  names  used  in  New  York. 

The  Durham  boat  was  a  keel-boat  shaped  much  like 
an  Indian  bark  canoe,  and  it  acquired  its  name  from  a 
celebrated  eastern  builder  of  river  vessels.  He  was  Rob¬ 
ert  Durham,  of  Pennsylvania,  who  began  turning  out  his 
product  about  the  year  1750  for  use  on  the  Delaware 
River,  where  the  craft  became  very  popular.  A  descrip¬ 
tion  of  them2  reads: 

“Durham  boats  were  6o  feet  long,  8  feet  wide,  and  2  feet  deep,  and 
when  laden  with  15  tons  drew  20  inches  of  water.  The  stern  and  bow 
were  sharp,  on  which  were  erected  small  decks,  while  a  running  board 
extended  the  whole  length  of  the  boat  on  each  side.3  They  carried  a 
mast  with  two  sails,  and  were  manned  by  a  crew  of  five  men,  one  steer¬ 
ing,  and  four  pushing  forward  with  setting-poles,  two  being  on  each 
side.” 

The  ark  was  a  type  of  boat  originating  either  on  the 
Susquehanna  or  Delaware  River.  After  Indian  warfare 

1  The  keel-boat  was  also  the  immediate  ancestor  of  the  canal  boat. 

2  From  Pearce's  “Annals  of  Luzerne.” 

3  Running  boards  were  a  necessary  feature  of  all  keel-boats.  On  these  long,  narrow 
platforms  the  pole-men  walked  while  they  pushed. 

282 


79. — Another  group  of  travellers  smoking  and  telling  stories  on  a  flat-boat.  Showing  the  knee-breeches,  hunt¬ 
ing-shirt,  moccasins,  coon-skin  cap  and  long  clay  pipes  of  the  period;  also,  a  small  hatch  leading 

down  into  the  boat.  Sketch  by  Joshua  Shaw. 


i 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


ceased  in  the  West  the  ark  was  very  popular  on  the  Ohio, 
Mississippi  and  all  other  streams  in  that  part  of  the  coun¬ 
try.  It  was  usually  from  seventy-five  to  a  hundred  feet 
long,  fifteen  to  twenty  feet  wide  and  from  three  to  five  feet 
deep.  Heavy  timbers  and  planks  were  necessary  for  its 
construction,  and  the  lumber  necessary  in  building  one 
cost  about  a  hundred  dollars.  The  ark  had  vertical  bul¬ 
warks  all  around,  and  both  bow  and  stern  ended  in  a 
broad  V-shaped  point.  So  huge  and  unwieldy  was  the 
vessel  that  it  was  much  at  the  mercy  of  the  current,  and 
only  a  general  guidance  could  be  given  to  it  by  side  sweeps 
and  steering.  The  steering  oar  was  a  wide  sweep  about 
forty  feet  long,  requiring  the  strength  of  two  men  for  its 
manipulation.  An  ark  could  never  go  up-stream.  On 
reaching  its  destination  it  was  sold  for  what  the  timber 
would  bring  —  ten  to  twenty-five  dollars  —  or  else  broken 
up  for  metamorphosis  into  a  cabin  and  furniture.  On  west¬ 
ern  waters  the  ark  usually  had  a  wooden  house  for  the 
family  near  one  end,  and  an  enclosure  at  the  other  for  the 
live  stock.  It  was  never  roofed  entirely  over,  and,  be¬ 
cause  of  its  inability  for  defense,  was  not  widely  adopted 
until  the  country  was  tranquil  and  travelling  was  freed 
from  the  incidents  of  warfare. 

A  Susquehanna  boat  was  an  ark  used  on  that  stream. 

The  flatboat  was  the  standard  water  vehicle  for  trav¬ 
elling  families,  and  was  a  creation  of  the  Ohio  River 
valley.  In  size  it  varied  greatly,  each  craft  being  orig¬ 
inally  built  or  bought  in  accordance  with  the  needs  of  the 
party  intending  to  occupy  it.  Due  consideration  was 
given,  in  its  construction,  to  the  nature  of  the  stream  or 
streams  to  be  navigated,  the  length  of  the  trip,  the  purpose 
to  which  the  timber  was  to  be  put  at  the  end  of  the  voyage, 
and  probability  of  attack  by  hostile  natives.  It  was  never 

284 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


80. — The  broadhorn  was  an  Ohio  or  Mississippi  family  flatboat  with  three 
steering  oars,  two  of  which  stuck  out,  like  huge  horns,  from  the 
sides  of  the  structure.  The  flag  was  exceptional. 


less  than  twenty  feet  long  by  ten  feet  in  width,  and  some¬ 
times  developed  into  a  huge  floating  domicile  sixty  feet 
in  length  and  eighteen  or  twenty  feet  wide.  The  hull  of 
such  a  boat  was  made  of  big  square  timbers  of  hard  wood, 
and  it  drew  from  a  foot  to  two  and  a  half  feet  of  water 
when  full  laden.  Its  timber  hull  rose,  under  like  condi¬ 
tions,  three  or  four  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  river  — 
sometimes  even  more  —  thus  making  it  an  oaken  fort 
with  sides  often  eight  or  ten  inches  thick  and  impervious 
to  rifle  fire. 

Upright  timbers  four  feet  high  and  four  or  five  inches 
thick  were  set  on  top  of  the  hull,  and  the  whole  was  then 
enclosed,  like  a  house,  with  heavy  planks.  A  similar  roof 

285 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 

completed  the  structure,  which  contained  a  barricaded 
entrance,  loopholes,-  a  window  or  two  and  a  trap-door  for 
upward  egress.  The  flatboat  floated  at  the  mercy  of  the 
current,  and  was  steered  by  a  big  sweep  as  long  as  the 
vessel  itself.  A  small  craft  of  the  sort  required  the  atten¬ 
tion  of  three  men.  Its  cost  was  about  three  or  four  dollars 
for  each  foot  of  length.  The  top  was  occasionally  —  but 
not  often  —  built  in  a  slightly  arched  form,  and  after  the 
time  of  Indian  hostilities  had  ceased  the  live  stock  was 
kept  out-of-doors,  in  an  open  yard  added  to  one  end  of  the 
boat.  The  family  wash  was  hung  out  to  dry  on  the  roof, 
and  sometimes  a  fond  parent  would  also  fence  in  a  space 
on  the  upper  deck  to  serve  as  a  playground  for  the  chil¬ 
dren. 

The  Kentucky  boat  was  a  small  or  medium-sized 
water  conveyance  like  the  one  just  described.  The  name 
was  given  to  such  as  were  bound  for  the  Kentucky  region 
or  lower  Ohio. 

New  Orleans  boats  were  big  flatboats  destined  for  the 
lower  Mississippi. 

A  broadhorn  was  a  similar  craft  whose  movements 
were  habitually  regulated,  as  far  as  possible,  by  two  big 
sweeps  that  projected  like  horns  from  each  side  of  the 
boat.  Vessels  of  the  flatboat  type  rarely  proceeded  up¬ 
stream. 

* 

The  barge  was  built  somewhat  after  the  style  of  a 
ship’s  long-boat,  and  closely  resembled  the  keel-boat  pre¬ 
viously  discussed.  It  was  from  thirty  to  seventy  feet  long, 
seven  to  twelve  feet  in  width,  and  carried  a  mast,  sails  and 
rudder.  Its  down-stream  progress  was  accelerated  either 
by  the  wind  or  by  four  of  the  crew  who  wielded  long  oars. 
When  going  up  a  river  the  motive  power  was  supplied  by 
numerous  men  who  used  the  familiar  iron-tipped  poles. 

286 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


Barges  cost  about  five  dollars  for  each  foot  of  length,  and 
—  with  keel-boats  —  were  the  most  rapid  of  all  convey¬ 
ances  for  water  travel.  They  were  used  by  business  men 
whose  time  was  valuable,  by  land  speculators  and  govern¬ 
ment  officials.  Under  ordinary  circumstances  they  could 
make  from  four  to  five  miles  an  hour  with  the  current, 
and  when  going  in  the  contrary  direction  attained  a  speed 
of  about  two  miles  an  hour.1 

Barges  had  covered  enclosures  for  passengers.  Some¬ 
times  the  protection  thus  given  was  in  the  shape  of  a 
house  built  in  the  center  of  the  boat,  supported  by  timbers 
at  its  four  corners  and  surmounted  by  a  gable  roof.  At 
other  times2  the  vessel  was  almost  completely  covered  by  a 
flat-topped  superstructure  of  bullet-proof  construction 
containing  loopholes  and  even  embrasures  for  the  firing  of 
small  cannon.  During  troublous  times  the  barge  was. 
anchored  at  night  and  sentries  were  posted.3 

The  Ohio  packet-boat  was  a  magnified  barge,  or  keel- 
boat.  In  size  it  ranged  from  seventy-five  to  a  hundred 
feet  long  by  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  wide,  with  the  passen¬ 
ger  cabin  usually  in  the  stern.  The  steersman  stood  on  the 
cabin  roof.  It  had  a  mast  and  sails,  was  equipped  with 
many  pole-men,  and  on  occasion  the  crew  even  went 
ashore  and  towed  the  boat  by  means  of  a  long  rope.  Such 
packets,  carrying  both  passengers  and  freight,  plied  regu¬ 
larly  between  Pittsburgh,  Cincinnati  and  Louisville  be¬ 
fore  the  beginning  of  the  steamboat  era  in  the  West.  By 
travelling  on  a  swift  packet-boat  a  man  could  go  from 
Cincinnati  to  Pittsburgh  and  back  again  in  a  month,  and 
even  have  a  day  or  so  to  devote  to  business  before  starting 
on  the  return  trip. 

1  Even  more  if  the  wind  was  from  a  favorable  quarter. 

2  Especially  during  periods  when  trouble  with  the  Indians  was  feared. 

3  All  river  craft  carried  anchors,  and  night  navigation  on  western  rivers  was  not 
usually  attempted  until  about  1800. 


CHAPTER  XVII 


A  RIVER  JOURNEY  THAT  ENDED  IN  TRAGEDY  —  MANY  VOY¬ 
AGERS  IGNORANT  OF  WILDERNESS  EXPEDIENTS  —  THE 
WESTERN  BOATMEN  —  THEIR  APPEARANCE,  HABITS 
AND  SPEECH  —  FURNISHINGS  OF  A  FLATBOAT  —  DAN¬ 
GERS  OF  NAVIGATION  —  HUMAN  VULTURES  —  FIRST 
PERIODIC  BOAT  TRAFFIC  —  OHIO  PACKETS  —  THE 
ADMIRAL  OF  A  FLOATING  DEPARTMENT  STORE  — 
TIME  CONSUMED  ON  TRIPS  —  END  OF  THE  FLATBOAT 
PERIOD 

NO  extensive  accounts  exist  by  which  the  amount  of 
flatboat  travel  on  western  rivers  from  about  1788 
until  its  final  disappearance  can  be  approximately  reck¬ 
oned.  It  began  at  a  still  earlier  date,  when  a  journey  of 
the  sort  was  folly  and  its  consequences  almost  sure  disaster. 
One  of  the  first  important  organized  trips  of  the  sort  was 
made  by  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  people  then  living 
on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Tennessee,  who  had  decided  to 
remove  to  a  locality  on  the  Cumberland  River  in  North 
Carolina.  They  proceeded  by  water  in  order  to  avoid  the 
shorter  but  more  laborious  overland  march,  and  started 
in  the  winter  of  1779-1780. 

Thirty  boats  —  probably  keel-boats  or  batteaux  — 
were  built  to  carry  the  people,  and  the  voyagers  did  not 
reach  their  destination  until  April  24th  of  1780,  after 
enduring  much  hardship.  Their  new  home  was  separated 
from  the  nearest  neighbors  by  more  than  two  hundred 

288 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


81. — A  little  flatboat,  equipped  with  a  sail,  used  for  down-stream  journeys  on 

some  small  and  shallow  rivers  of  the  East. 

miles  of  wilderness,  and  so  out  of  touch  with  the  world 
did  the  self-exiled  party  find  itself  that  its  members  or¬ 
ganized  a  little  republic,  similar  to  the  one  of  Wautaga, 
and  also  based  on  a  written  document.  Disease,  the  In¬ 
dians  and  social  isolation  proved  fatal  to  the  venture  so 
bravely  yet  foolishly  begun.1  But  twenty  of  the  original 
party  remained  in  the  settlement  in  1792,  and  of  those 
twenty  only  one  is  credited  by  tradition  with  a  natural 
death. 

About  three  hundred  Kentucky  boats  are  believed  to 
have  passed  down  the  Ohio  during  the  year  of  1780, 2  and 

1  Clannish  migrations,  limited  to  one  party  however  large,  have  not  generally  been 
successful  in  any  period  or  country,  and  have  not  had  a  lasting  influence  on  the  occupied 
territory.  All  permanently  important  migrations  have  originated  in  a  widely  distributed 
public  interest  prior  to  the  movement  itself,  and  the  first  travellers  in  such  cases  have 
carried  with  them  a  confidence  or  certainty  that  others  were  to  follow.  That  feeling  of 
support  has  often  been  more  valuable  than  mere  numbers  in  sustaining  pioneers  in  a 
new  country. 

2  Those  who  made  the  trip  before  1788  were  bound  for  Kentucky. 

289 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


82. — An  Orleans  or  Mississippi  boat.  Constructed  on  the  lines  of  the  covered 
Ohio  boat,  but  larger  and  heavier.  Used  in  descending  the  Mississippi,  and 
often  equipped  with  a  sail.  From  a  drawing  by  the  American  artist,. 
Henry  Lewis. 


a  small  but  increasing  flow  of  travel  continued  westward 
on  the  river  thereafter  until  1788.  Then  came  the  onrush 
of  a  whole  people;  the  first  national  surge  of  the  tide  des¬ 
tined  to  continue  under  many  different  aspects  of  move¬ 
ment,  but  always  due  to  similar  impulses  and  purposes, 
until  the  oceans  were  united.  The  people  did  not  then, 
nor  for  long  afterward,  have  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  as 
their  avowed  objective.  What  they  wanted  was  new 
homes,  wealth,  and  soil  over  which  they  could  become  the 
individual  proprietors.  Impelled  onward  by  those  as¬ 
pirations  they  made  their  periodic  advances,  using  each 
time,  as  an  aid  to  their  westward  progress,  the  transporta- 

290 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


tion  method  best  fitted  for  the  journey  immediately  at 
hand.  This  time  they  built  boats;  floated  with  the  cur¬ 
rents  of  the  rivers;  pushed  themselves  along  by  poles; 
lifted  sails  to  catch  the  breezes;  pulled  themselves  onward 
by  ropes.  Any  way  served  as  long  as  they  made  visible 
progress  over  the  waters  bearing  them  into  the  new  coun¬ 
try.  And  as  they  moved  they  fought,  sang,  fished,  swore 
dreadful  oaths,  quarrelled  among  themselves,  aided  one 
another  when  in  peril  or  distress,  brought  new  children 
into  the  world,  and  buried  their  dead  in  haste  that  thev 
might  not  lose  an  hour  of  the  precious  daylight  or  a 
favoring  wind. 

By  the  later  part  of  the  year  1788  a  human  flood  was 
upborne  by  the  flood  beneath.  Flotillas  of  fantastic  craft 
dotted  the  surface  of  the  winding  rivers.  New  settle¬ 
ments  sprang  up  along  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,1  and  all 
those  scenes  attendant  on  the  evolution  of  a  wilderness 
frontier  into  a  region  suffering  its  first  acute  attack  of 
civilization  were  again  in  progress  of  repetition.2 

Practically  all  the  invaders  who  so  suddenly  poured 
over  the  mountains  and  launched  themselves  headlong 
into  extensive  voyages  on  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  sys¬ 
tems  of  rivers  were  lacking  in  knowledge  of  the  country 
through  which  they  were  to  journey.  Those  who  came 
from  cities  and  towns  of  the  East  were  also  ignorant  of  the 
many  expedients  by  which  wilderness  life,  especially  on  a 
river  trip,  could  be  made  more  safe  and  easy.  As  a  conse¬ 
quence  they  sought  advice  and  aid  before  embarking,  and 

1  Cincinnati  and  Marietta  were  founded  in  1788.  Cincinnati,  then  called  Losantiville, 
at  once  became  the  most  important  western  outpost,  and  its  big  timber  fortification  was 
named  Fort  Washington.  The  town  was  afterward  a  headquarters  for  all  the  white  men's 
campaigns  against  the  Indians  until  the  natives  gave  up  their  struggle. 

2  The  line  where  primitive  races  and  civilization  meet  in  final  contest  for  supremacy 
is  distinguished  for  a  time  by  a  display  of  the  worst  qualities  of  both  those  states  of 
society.  The  more  highly  cultured  combatants  lapse  from  the  standard  elsewhere  slowly 
attained  and,  as  a  class,  resort  to  many  of  the  cruder  methods  which  they  are  avowedly 
seeking  to  eliminate. 


291 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


generally  made  arrangements  by  which  several  flatboats 
were  to  travel  together  as  a  little  fleet.  The  head  of  the 
family  or  party  would  also,  if  possible,  hire  a  frontiers¬ 
man  to  go  with  the  boat  and  take  charge  of  its  navigation. 
Through  those  conditions  there  was  created  a  class  of  men 
known  as  western  boatmen,  who  became  familiar  with  all 
the  vagaries  of  the  rivers  and  fertile  in  every  device  that 


83. — Mississippi  flatboat  with  superstructure  of  rough  lumber.  Craft  of  this 
sort  were  used  by  families  which  intended  to  use  the  lumber  for 
house  building  after  reaching  their  destinations. 


might  be  helpful  in  an  emergency.  The  professional 
boatman  of  the  West  spent  years  in  travelling  down  the 
streams  and  back  again,  and  became  one  of  the  most  in¬ 
teresting  figures  of  frontier  life  the  needs  of  the  country 
have  ever  produced. 

He  was  of  the  restless  type  that  in  every  period  of 
American  development  has  done  the  unusual  and  dan¬ 
gerous  thing  just  for  the  love  of  doing  it;  who  has  never 
been  satisfied  unless  each  new  day  brought  some  unex¬ 
pected  event;  who  has  only  been  happy  when  he  could 
always  keep  moving.  He  was  an  epicure  of  excitement. 

Work  no  other  man  could  do  was  his  one  luxurv.  In 

•/ 

physical  make-up  the  typical  boatman  was  tall,  thin  and 
sinewy.  His  immobile  face  was  tanned  to  a  dark  brown, 

292 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


and  from  above  high  cheek-bones  and  a  long  nose  two  dull 
gray  eyes  gazed  blankly.  In  his  normal  state  he  was  si¬ 
lently  waiting  for  something  to  happen,  knowing  quite 
well  it  certainly  would.  When  the  bomb  of  circumstance 
exploded  the  human  creature  was  on  that  dot  of  time 
transformed  into  a  combination  of  rubber  ball,  wildcat 
and  shrieking  maniac,  all  controlled  by  instantaneous  per¬ 
ception  and  exact  calculation.  After  the  tumult  he 
subsided  again  into  his  listless  lethargy  of  waiting,  the 
monotony  being  endured  by  chewing  tobacco  and  illus¬ 
trating  the  marvelous  accuracy  with  which  he  could 
propel  a  stream  of  its  juice  for  any  distance  up  to  fifteen 
feet.1 

The  costume  he  wore  was  as  picturesque  as  his  per¬ 
sonality,  and  in  essential  features  was  so  widely  adopted 
as  to  be  almost  a  uniform.  It  consisted  of  a  bright  red 
flannel  shirt  covered  by  a  loose  blue  coat  —  called  a  jer¬ 
kin  —  that  reached  only  to  his  hips,  and  coarse  brown 
trousers  of  linsey-woolsey.  His  head  covering  was  a  cap 
of  untanned  skin,  often  with  the  fur  side  out;  the  uni¬ 
versal  moccasins  clad  his  feet,  and  from  a  leather  belt 
hung  his  hunting-knife  and  tobacco  pouch. 

Still  a  third  distinguishing  feature  of  the  professional  . 
flatboatman  was  his  iridescent  vocabulary.  As  was  the 
case  with  all  Americans  of  the  age  he  spoke  in  a  ceaseless 
series  of  metaphors,  similes  and  comparisons.  Everything 
was  described,  whether  the  thing  discussed  was  an  inani¬ 
mate  object  or  human  action,  by  likening  it  to  something 
else.  And,  as  was  the  fact  through  all  classes  of  frontier 
people,  he  colored  his  discourse  with  references  revealing 
his  own  occupation.  In  any  miscellaneous  backwoods  as¬ 
semblage  of  those  years  an  expert  in  native  speech  could 

1  Boatmen,  and  many  other  men  of  the  time,  prided  themselves  on  this  accomplish¬ 
ment,  and  often  made  wagers  on  hitting  a  knot-hole  or  a  fly. 

293 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


have  correctly  told  the  kind  of  work  done  by  most  of  the 
men  in  the  gathering  simply  by  listening  to  their  talk  for 
half  an  hour.  When  a  boatman  wanted  to  say  that  some 
act  had  been  performed  with  celerity  he  declared  it  had 
happened  “quicker  nor  a  alligator  can  chaw  a  puppy.” 
To  be  silent,  in  his  phraseology,  was  to  be  “dumb  as  a  dead 
nigger  in  a  mud-hole.”  If  he  warned  a  companion  to  run 
he  did  it  by  shouting  “Start  yer  trotters.”  In  referring  to 
strangulation,  either  legal  or  accidental,  he  said  the  vic¬ 
tim  “choked  to  death  like  a  catfish  on  a  sand-bank.”  A 
difficult  thing  to  do  was  “harder  nor  climbin’  a  peeled 
saplin’,  heels  uppard.”  To  move  very  swiftly  was  to 
“travel  like  a  nigger  in  a  thunder-storm.”  And  when  the 
crisis  for  which  he  was  ever  waiting  suddenly  came  he 
would  scream  “Hell’s  a-snortin’,”  and  became  a  blur  of 
arms,  legs  and  profanity. 

Guided  and  helped  by  men  like  these  the  emigrant 
families  travelled  down  the  rivers  and  absorbed  useful 
knowledge  on  the  way.  The  routine  of  daily  life  on  a 
flatboat  did  not  differ  much,  except  in  the  actual  work 
of  navigation,  from  that  of  the  cabins  on  land.  At  one 
end  of  the  boat  was  a  large  space  often  called  the  parlor, 
or  sitting-room,  where  the  travellers  ate  their  meals  and 
the  children  romped  between  times.  It  was  furnished 
with  chairs,  a  table,  a  looking-glass,  and  such  other  arti¬ 
cles  as  the  women  needed  for  their  work.  The  kitchen 
was  adjoining.  A  stove  was  set  up  there,  and  its  pipe  pro¬ 
jected  through  the  roof.  A  narrow  passageway  extended 
down  the  center  of  the  boat  for  a  considerable  part  of  its 
length.  In  front  the  hall  opened  into  the  parlor,  and  on 
each  side  of  it  were  several  small  bedrooms.  At  the 
rear  of  the  boat  was  another  large  compartment  for 
the  storage  of  provisions,  furniture  and  agricultural  im- 

294 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


84. — The  ark  was  a  big,  cumbersome,  wide  flatboat,  and  as  built  in  the  East 
sometimes  had  V-shaped  ends.  It  was  extensively  used  on  the  Connecticut, 
Delaware  and  Susquehanna  Rivers,  and  later  introduced  on  the  Ohio  and 
other  interior  streams.  It  could  not  prevail  against  a  current.  Arks  were 
not  roofed  over,  but  had  little  houses  amidship.  Showing  Susquehanna 
arks  that  survived  until  the  canal  period. 


plements,  and  still  farther  astern  was  the  abode  of  the  live 
stock.  The  rooms  in  those  parts  of  the  craft  devoted  to 
the  use  of  the  family  were  created,  as  a  rule,  by  partitions 
of  linsey-woolsey  or  chintz  cloth  that  sometimes  flared  up 
from  contact  with  a  candle  or  pine  knot  and  left  no  parti¬ 
tions  at  all.  In  more  elaborate  boats  some  rooms  were 
divided  by  thin  wooden  walls.  The  enclosure  for  horses, 
pigs,  chickens  or  other  farm  animals  on  board  was  sep¬ 
arated  from  the  rest  of  the  space  by  a  barrier  of  planks. 
Such  were  the  general  arrangements  of  a  covered  Ken- 
tuckv  boat. 

j 

The  ark  bore  less  resemblance  to  a  land  habitation  in 
its  internal  arrangements.  A  wooden  house  was  often 

295 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


built  on  it  near  one  end,1  the  farmyard  was  fenced  in  at 
the  other,  and  miscellaneous  non-perishable  goods,  such 
as  wagons,  plows  and  furniture  were  distributed  through¬ 
out  the  rest  of  the  space  in  order  to  keep  an  even  keel. 

The  navigation  of  the  Ohio  and  “Massasip” — as  the 
Mississippi  was  popularly  called  —  presented  a  number 
of  dangers  to  flatboats,  only  part  of  which  could  be 
avoided  by  intelligent  precautions.  From  the  others 
there  was  no  escape  except  through  good  luck.  First 
among  the  perils  to  which  the  cumbersome  craft  lay  ex¬ 
posed  were  countless  trunks  of  once  floating  trees  that  had 
become  imbedded  in  the  river  bottoms,  leaving  their  free 
ends  pointed  upward  at  an  angle,  like  spikes,  to  stab 
whatever  hit  them.  Menaces  such  as  these  were  known 
by  several  names,  dependent  on  their  actions  and  position 
with  relation  to  the  surface  of  the  water.  A  sunken  tree 
moving  slowly  up  and  down  with  a  periodic  action  under 
the  influence  of  the  current  was  called  a  “sawyer.”  The 
moving  end  might  extend  either  up  stream  or  down,  and 
its  successive  brief  liftings  above  the  surface  were  usu¬ 
ally  separated  by  an  interval  of  several  minutes.  But 
sometimes  a  log  of  the  sort  remained  under  water  for 
twenty  minutes  before  heaving  upward  again,  and  in  that 
time  a  boat  might  easily  have  drifted  into  view  of  the 
place  where  it  lay  hid,  and  have  reached  the  exact  danger 
spot  without  any  possible  warning,  only  to  be  wrecked  by 
running  full  tilt  against  the  spear.  There  could  be  no 
predetermined  avoidance  of  such  a  danger,  and  many  a 
boat  suffered  catastrophe  or  grave  damage  by  an  accident 
of  that  nature.  The  vigilant  boatman  was  always  watch¬ 
ing  for  the  turbulent  water  which  gave  warning  of  a  lift- 

1  Neither  end  of  a  big  timber  boat  could  properly  be  called  the  bow,  for  the  current 
swung  it  around  so  that  sometimes  one  extremity  and  sometimes  the  other  would  point 
down-stream. 


296 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 

ing  sawyer  just  ahead,  and  a  dozen  times  a  day  he  saved 
the  craft  entrusted  to  his  pilotage  by  desperately  throwing 
his  full  weight  against  the  sweep. 

A  sleeping  sawyer  was  one  periodically  heaving  up¬ 
ward,  yet  not  appearing  above  the  surface  to  give  warning 
of  its  presence. 

A  planter  was  a  log  so  solidly  fixed  that  it  never 
moved.  With  all  three  sorts  of  obstructions  an  up-stream 
inclination  of  the  log  was  of  course  the  most  feared,  but 
was  decidedly  the  less  usual. 

Whenever  a  little  flotilla  of  emigrant  boats  slowly 
drifted  around  a  bend  and  discovered  a  strange  boat 


85. — An  Ohio  River  ark,  rectangular  in  shape.  These  were  very  large,  and 
contained  not  only  the  travelling  family,  but  its  farm  equipment,  live  stock 
and  household  goods.  Arks  were  not  safe  travel  vehicles  until  trouble  with 
the  Indians  had  ceased. 

297 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


pinned  on  a  planter  or  sawyer  in  the  current  below,  the 
whole  squadron  would  forthwith  make  for  the  nearest 
favorable  spot  alongshore  and  come  to  a  halt.  Then  the 
men  of  the  party  tumbled  into  the  skiffs,  carrying  axes, 
saws  and  other  tools,  and  hurried  out  to  the  shipwreck. 
A  few  hours  of  hard  work  were  enough  in  which  to  get 
the  wounded  boat  loose  and  patch  her  up  again  if  the 
damage  was  not  severe,  but  it  often  was  the  case  that  two 
or  three  days  were  needed  for  the  task.  In  many  instances 
there  was  nothing  to  be  done  but  leave  the  ark  to  its  fate, 
and  if  that  was  the  verdict  of  the  aquatic  jury  its  occu¬ 
pants  and  all  their  goods  were  apportioned  among  the 
rescuing  armada  and  the  lost  boat  would  be  left  sticking 
on  the  fatal  log  like  a  big  beetle  on  a  needle. 

Mutual  help  for  those  in  distress  was  the  iron  rule  of 
the  road,  except  for  the  river  pirates.  They  were  a  small 
class  of  white  outlaws  who  roamed  the  waters  to  fatten  on 
disaster,  and  a  limping  or  crippled  boat  was  juicy  prey 
provided  it  did  not  contain  enough  men  or  firearms  to 
fight  them  off.  They  even  attacked  a  moving  craft  at 
night  on  occasion,  especially  if  they  had  reason  to  believe 
its  cargo  was  more  than  usually  valuable.  In  order  to  get 
information  respecting  the  contents  of  a  likely  boat,  the 
probable  time  of  its  arrival  near  their  headquarters  and 
the  number  of  its  male  inmates,  some  of  the  river  pirate 
gangs  kept  scouts  at  important  stopping  places  along  the 
rivers.  The  spies  would  obtain  all  desired  knowledge 
and  then  hasten  on  ahead  to  their  comrades  below,  who 
were  lying  in  wait  for  the  expected  arrival.  Men  of  such 
stamp  were  rare,  and  they  lived  but  briefly  after  they 
were  taken. 

The  most  notorious  group  of  river  outlaws  was  one 
with  its  headquarters  at  a  point  on  the  Ohio  about  twenty- 

298 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


five  miles  below  old  Shawneetown,  in  Illinois.  The  town 
itself  consisted  of  a  few  log  cabins  originally  built  by  the 
French,  standing  a  hundred  rods  back  from  the  river  and 
inhabited  by  a  rough  population  composed  of  French, 
Indians,  Spaniards,  half-breeds  and  Americans,  some  of 


86. — Manual  labor  was  frequently  used,  and  even  horses  and  oxen  were  at  times 
employed,  in  pulling  unwieldy  craft  toward  their  destinations 
at  the  rate  of  four  or  five  miles  a  day. 


whom  were  no  doubt  participants  in  the  robber  traffic. 
On  the  shore  of  the  river  at  the  point  in  question  and  in  a 
little  cave  in  a  rock  cliff  overhanging  the  water,  was 
the  chief  gathering  place  of  the  pirates  when  they  were 
about  to  engage  actively  in  the  deeds  of  their  profession. 
The  place  became  known  as  Cave-in-Rock,  and  was  long 
a  spot  approached  with  apprehension  and  passed  with 

299 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


relief.  It  was  the  habit  of  the  pirates  of  Cave-in-Rock  to 
kill  those  on  board  a  richly  laden  boat,  provided  an  attack 
on  it  could  safely  be  attempted,  and  then  send  the  craft  on 
to  New  Orleans  or  some  other  town  on  the  lower  Missis¬ 
sippi  in  charge  of  a  crew  picked  from  their  own  number, 
who  would  dispose  of  its  contents  and  return  with  the  pro¬ 
ceeds.  There  were  so  many  boats  descending  the  river; 
so  many  emigrants  changing  their  plans  and  voyaging 
to  destinations  other  than  they  had  at  first  announced; 
and  the  means  of  communication  in  the  new  country  were 
so  unreliable,  that  a  boat  and  its  occupants  could  easily 
vanish  from  the  sight  of  those  most  interested  in  its  wel¬ 
fare.  When  such  a  thing  happened  the  disappearance 
was  attributed  to  a  disaster  of  travel,  whereas  it  might 
have  been  due,  and  occasionally  was  procured,  by  a  more 
sinister  cause.1 

Other  occasional  perils  to  the  flatboats  were  due  to 
falling  banks,  floating  islands,  and  to  stationary  masses  of 
trees  and  driftwood  called  wooden  islands.  The  banks 
of  the  rivers  —  especially  of  the  Mississippi  —  were  con¬ 
stantly  being  undermined  by  the  currents  and  falling  into 
the  water  in  large  masses,  and  therefore  no  boat  guided 
by  experienced  rivermen  was  ever  tied  up  for  the  night  on 
the  side  of  a  stream,  below  a  bend,  which  felt  the  full 
force  of  a  swerving  current.  Novices  in  navigation  who 
came  to  rest  at  injudicious  spots  were  at  times  over¬ 
whelmed  by  tons  of  earth  and  heavy  trees  slipping  bodily 
upon  them  from  above.  Every  river  had  its  well-known 
danger  spots  that  were  to  be  widely  avoided  or  passed 

1  The  whole  subject  of  brigandage  on  the  rivers  in  early  days  is  shrouded  in  much 
mystery.  It  did  exist,  but  probably  not  to  the  degree  that  later  legend  has  declared  or 
even  to  such  an  extent  as  the  travellers  of  the  time  themselves  believed.  Almost  the  only 
book  dealing  exclusively  with  the  question  is  a  fantastic  tale  entitled,  “Mike  Fink:  A 
Legend  of  the  Ohio,”  by  Emerson  Bennett.  In  many  respects  the  atmosphere  and  manners 
of  the  time  are  portrayed  by  it  without  undue  exaggeration,  but  the  incidents  of  the 
story  are  fanciful. 


300 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


1  Names  like  “Sisters,”  “Hog  Hole,”  “Sour  Beer’s  Eddy”  and  “Old  Cow”  carried 
their  own  story. 

2  Probably  in  the  interval  between  1750  and  1755. 

301 


FORT  ARMSTRONG  . 

_  •  -  ........  .  .  . . ■» . .  •-  .....  ....  . .  ...  .'  . v.  - - - -  ■■ 

87. — A  sailing  barge  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Rivers.  Swiftest  means  of 
water  conveyance  in  the  interior  before  the  steamboat  era  began.  Used  by 
business  men,  government  officials,  military  officers  and  land  speculators. 
After  a  drawing  by  the  artist,  Henry  Lewis. 

with  unusual  caution.  They  frequently  received  their 
names  from  accidents  which  had  happened  there,  and  the 
mention  of  such  a  place  to  an  old  boatman  was  sure  to 
produce  a  reflective  ejection  of  tobacco  juice,  followed  by 
some  unpleasant  and  harrowing  narrative.1 

Periodic  navigation  of  rivers  by  boats  did  not  first 
appear  in  the  West.  That  development  in  the  history  of 
human  transportation  in  America  took  place  on  the  Dela¬ 
ware  some  time  in  the  second  half  of  the  eighteenth  cen¬ 
tury.2  Keel-boats  were  the  type  of  craft  originally  used 
as  regular  water  conveyances  for  the  public,  and  the  ac- 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 

commodations  they  afforded  were  of  very  scanty  extent. 
All  they  guaranteed  to  do  was  to  float  and  move  onward 
with  whomsoever  entrusted  himself  to  that  means  of 
progress.  The  boats  making  regular  trips  usually  started 
early  in  the  morning  like  stage  wagons,  and  when  the 
time  of  departure  was  near  at  hand  the  patron1  blew 
loudly  on  a  horn  to  summon  his  intending  passengers. 
A  man  who  embarked  for  passage  either  carried  his  own 
blanket  and  rolled  up  in  it  at  night2  or  else  got  off  and 


88. — The  batteau  was  a  big  boat  with  the  lines  of  a  skiff.  It  was  employed  by 
those  who  were  in  a  hurry,  if  a  barge  was  not  available.  By  the 
Philadelphia  artist  and  wood  engraver,  Henry  Robb. 


slept  in  some  tavern  or  neighboring  farmhouse,  resuming 
his  voyage  when  the  horn  again  tooted  at  early  dawn.  At 
a  later  day  the  Delaware  River  and  other  eastern  passen¬ 
ger  keel-boats  were  transformed  into  barges  by  the  addi¬ 
tion  of  house-like  structures  designed  to  furnish  greater 
comfort  and  shelter.  With  these  cabins  there  also  ap¬ 
peared  rude  sleeping  bunks,  one  above  another,  and  thus 
developed  the  first  germ  of  the  future  sleeping-car.  But 
the  traveller  still  carried  his  own  bedding. 

The  packet-boats  of  the  Ohio,  which  furnished  the 

1  Captain. 

2  The  very  earliest  regular  passenger  keel-boats  had  no  covered  shelter. 

302 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


first  periodic  travel  facilities  in  the  interior  of  the  conti¬ 
nent,  were  keel-boats  of  twenty  or  thirty  tons  burden  and 
came  into  use  in  the  year  1794.  They  ran  regularly 
thereafter  between  Cincinnati  and  Pittsburgh.  At  the 
time  such  packets  were  introduced  the  Indians  were  en¬ 
gaged  in  their  last  effort  to  prevent  the  westward  progress 
of  the  white  race,1  and  real  danger  to  defenseless  boats  still 
existed.  As  a  consequence  the  packets  were  stoutly  built 
and  heavily  armed.  An  understanding  of  their  character 
and  accommodations  can  best  be  obtained  through  the 
advertisement  printed  in  Cincinnati2  to  announce  the  in¬ 
auguration  of  the  service.  It  read: 

OHIO  PACKET  BOATS. 

“Two  boats  for  the  present  will  start  from  Cincinnati  to  Pittsburgh 
and  return  to  Cincinnati  in  the  following  manner,  viz. :  First  boat  will 
leave  Cincinnati  this  morning  at  eight  o’clock,  and  return  to  Cincinnati 
so  as  to  be  ready  to  sail  again  in  four  weeks  from  this  date.  Second  boat 
will  leave  Cincinnati  on  Saturday,  the  30th  inst.,  and  return  as  above, 
and  so  regularly,  each  boat  performing  the  voyage  to  and  from  Cin¬ 
cinnati  to  Pittsburgh  once  in  every  four  weeks.  The  proprietor  of  the^e 
boats  having  maturely  considered  the  many  inconveniences  and  dangers 
incident  to  the  common  method  hitherto  adopted  of  navigating  the  Ohio, 
and  being  influenced  by  a  love  of  philanthropy,3  and  a  desire  of  being 
serviceable  to  the  public,  has  taken  great  pains  to  render  the  accommo¬ 
dations  on  board  the  boat  as  agreeable  and  convenient  as  they  could 
possibly  be  made.  No  danger  need  be  apprehended  from  the  enemy,  as 
every  person  on  board  will  be  under  cover  made  proof  to  rifle  balls,  and 
convenient  port  holes  for  firing  out.  Each  of  the  boats  is  armed  with 
six  pieces,  carrying  a  pound  ball ;  also  a  good  number  of  muskets,  and 
amply  supplied  with  ammunition,  strongly  manned  with  choice  men, 
and  the  master  of  approved  knowledge. 

“A  separate  cabin  from  that  designed  for  the  men  is  partitioned  off 
in  each  boat  for  accommodating  the  ladies  on  their  passage.  Conven¬ 
iences  are  constructed  on  board  each  boat,  so  as  to  render  landing  un¬ 
necessary,  as  it  might  at  times  be  attended  with  danger.  Rules  and 
regulations  for  maintaining  order  on  board,  and  for  the  good  manage¬ 
ment  of  the  boats,  and  a  table  accurately  calculated  for  the  rates  of 


1  In  the  Mississippi  valley. 

2  In  the  “Centinel”  newspaper  of  January  11,  1794. 

a  Quite  an  early  appearance  of  that  beneficent  impulse  as  a  motive  for  business  en¬ 
terprise. 


303 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


freightage,  for  passengers,  and  carriage  of  letters  to  and  from  Cincinnati 
to  Pittsburgh ;  also,  a  table  of  the  exact  time  of  the  arrival  and  departure 
to  and  from  the  different  places  on  the  Ohio  between  Cincinnati  and 
Pittsburgh  may  be  seen  on  board  each  boat,  and  at  the  printing  office  in 
Cincinnati.  Passengers  will  be  supplied  with  provisions  and  liquors  of 
all  kinds,  of  the  first  quality,  at  the  most  reasonable  rates  possible.  Per¬ 
sons  desirous  of  working  their  passage  will  be  admitted,  on  finding 
themselves  subject,  however,  to  the  same  order  and  directions  from  the 
master  of  the  boats  as  the  rest  of  the  working  hands  of  the  boat’s  crew. 
An  office  of  insurance  will  be  kept  at  Cincinnati,  Limestone,  and  Pitts¬ 
burgh,  where  persons  desirous  of  having  their  property  insured  may 
apply.  The  rates  of  insurance  will  be  moderate.” 

The  armed  keel-boats  took  about  twelve  days  to  go 
from  Cincinnati  to  Pittsburgh,  stopping  at  Limestone, 
Marietta  and  a  few  other  settlements  on  the  way.  They 
and  the  similar  unarmed  craft  soon  to  follow  were  the 
best  means  of  moving  through  the  interior  until  the  year 
1811,  and  remained  the  only  reliable  up-stream  convey¬ 
ances  on  the  rivers  until  1817.  But  almost  all  water 
travel  beyond  the  Alleghany  Mountains  was  in  the  oppo¬ 
site  direction  —  down-stream  and  toward  the  west.  Few 
of  the  immense  number  of  emigrants  who  floated  to  the 
new  settlements  in  the  Northwest  Territory  during  the 
first  generation  of  the  influx  ever  returned  to  the  East 
again.  They  took  up  government  land  for  home  sites 
and  farms,  and  in  less  than  twenty  years  the  country  had 
been  overrun.  The  woods  of  Ohio  and  the  groves  and 
prairies  of  Indiana  and  Illinois  were  in  their  turn  dotted 
with  log  cabins;  territorial  and  state  governments  laid 
out  roads  between  the  principal  towns;  Conestoga  wagons 
and  stage-coaches  appeared  on  land  routes  of  travel  and 
the  Ohio  valley  had  ceased  to  be  a  frontier.  New  ar¬ 
rivals  still  came  drifting  down  the  river  in  ever  increas¬ 
ing  numbers,  but  they  found  established  communities  and 
an  organized  society,  although  it  was  a  rough  and  boister¬ 
ous  one. 


304 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


A  short  time  after  western  river  towns  sprang  into 
existence  the  flatboat  demonstrated  its  versatility  in  a 
new  way.  Having  served  as  a  travel  vehicle,  a  domicile, 
a  fort  and  a  barnyard,  it  finally  appeared  as  a  retail  busi¬ 
ness  establishment  stocked  with  dry-goods,  crockery,  bon¬ 


nets,  paint,  cutlery,  real  boots  and  shoes,  ready-made 
clothing,  big  colored  handkerchiefs,  tinware  and  all  those 
other  notions,  fabrics  and  household  articles  then  to  be 
found  in  the  small  dry-goods,  hardware  and  general 
stores  of  the  East.  There  was  a  lack  of  such  useful  things 
in  the  earliest  days  of  the  river  settlements,  and  a  shrewd 
trader  who  fitted  up  his  flatboat  in  the  semblance  of  a 

305 


ARTIST'S  ENCAMPMENT.  P£S  KUNSTtERS  fCLDlAGtR, 

S9. — Boat  used  by  the  artist,  Henry  Lewis,  during  his  trip  down  the  Mississippi. 
The  superstructure  was  erected  on  a  platform  which  in  turn  rested  on  two 
large  canoes.  This  type  of  boat  combined  cheapness,  swiftness,  safety,  a 
considerable  carrying  capacity  and  a  minimum  of  labor  in  its  navigation. 
From  a  drawing  by  Lewis. 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


rural  dry-goods  shop  and  filled  it  with  appropriate  mer¬ 
chandise  received  an  enthusiastic  welcome. 

Formalities  worthy  of  such  an  important  event  were 
observed  in  the  approach  of  a  trading  boat  to  a  newly 
established  community.  When  within  a  short  distance 
of  his  anchorage  the  Admiral  of  the  department  store 
mounted  to  the  roof,  and,  striking  a  posture  in  which 
dignity  and  philanthropy  were  judiciously  mingled,  he 
announced  his  presence  by  repeated  blasts  on  the  familiar 
tin  horn.  It  was  a  sound  that  by  common  agreement  sig¬ 
nified  either  the  arrival  of  news  or  an  important  occur¬ 
rence  of  some  sort,  and  was  sure  to  bring  to  the  landing 
place  a  group  that  would  scatter  information  of  the 
arrival.  Forthwith  all  the  women  folk  of  the  little 
hamlet  dropped  their  other  affairs  and  hurried  to  the  boat 
to  enjoy  again  the  almost  forgotten  delights  of  shopping, 
comparing  patterns  and  buying  the  things  they  needed. 
A  store-boat  was  fitted  with  shelves  for  the  goods  and 
counters  for  their  display.  The  indefinable  aroma  of 
fresh,  clean  fabrics  filled  its  creaking  cabin,  and  the  dig¬ 
nified  Admiral  of  half  an  hour  before,  transformed  into 
a  smiling  merchant  with  a  huge  pair  of  shears,  snipped 
his  calicoes,  bargained  with  customers  and  told  them  the 
doings  of  the  outside  world.  After  he  had  accumulated 
all  the  money  the  population  had  on  hand  he  once  more 
assumed  his  nautical  rank,  blew  a  farewell  blast  and  dis¬ 
appeared  down  the  river.  The  floating  merchant  of  the 
Northwest  Territory  tried  to  collect  in  his  craft  the  stand¬ 
ard  articles  ordinarily  sold  in  half  a  dozen  kinds  of  retail 
shops,  and  such  an  enterprise  was  the  progenitor  of  to¬ 
day’s  universal  emporium. 

All  long-distance  travel  on  the  interior  streams  was 
performed  with  almost  incredible  slowness  until  the  gen- 

306 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


90. — Sunken  trees  were  the  most  serious  natural  menace  to  travel  on  interior 
rivers  during  the  flatboat  age.  Those  hidden  by  the  water  were 
most  dangerous  of  all.  From  a  sketch  by  Lewis. 


eral  introduction  of  steamboats.1  The  whole  region  lying 
between  Pittsburgh  and  Louisville  was  broadly  known 
as  the  Upper  Country,  and  the  big  barges  that  regularly 
moved  from  either  of  those  towns  or  Cincinnati  to  the 
Lower  Country — which  was  the  southern  Mississippi 
district  —  made  one  round  trip  a  year.  That  was  the 
length  of  time  it  took  to  go  from  the  Ohio  towns  to  New 
Orleans  and  back  again  in  a  barge  which  also  carried 
freight.2  By  swifter  and  smaller  keel-boats  the  time 
could  be  cut  in  half.3  The  down-stream  journey  was  made 
in  six  weeks,  and  four  and  a  half  months  were  sufficient 

1  Which  did  not  take  place  until  1817  in  that  part  of  the  country. 

2  According  to  the  statement  of  Morgan  Neville,  an  early  writer  familiar  with  river 
travel,  and  many  others.  Neville’s  story  of  conditions  in  the  pioneer  days  was  written  in 
1829,  and  is  to  be  found  in  “The  West;  Its  Commerce  and  Navigation,”  by  Hall:  p.  130. 

3  Burnet’s  “Notes  on  the  Settlement  of  the  Northwest  Territory.” 

307 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


in  which  to  return.  It  required  about  a  month  to  go  from 
Louisville  to  Pittsburgh  by  keel-boat  unless  unusual  effort 
was  made.1  A  freight  and  passenger  barge  was  three 
months  on  the  same  trip.2  In  the  year  1817,  just  before  the 
general  introduction  of  steamboats,  the  whole  passenger 
and  freight  traffic  of  the  Ohio  River  was  handled  by  twenty 
barges  of  a  hundred  tons  each,  and  a  hundred  and  fifty 
keel-boats  of  about  thirty  tons  displacement.3  These  were 
the  regular  craft  of  the  river.  Their  work  had  no  relation 
to  the  travel  tide  of  the  emigrants,  which  proceeded  as 
usual  by  means  of  the  thousands  of  flatboats  and  arks  that 
drifted  down-stream  every  year. 

The  long  reign  of  the  clumsy  timber  boats  did  not 
abruptly  end  in  western  waters  with  the  appearance  of  the 
steamboat  there.  It  continued  for  some  time  even  after 
steam  was  harnessed  for  river  traffic,  and  did  not  entirely 
disappear  until  close  to  the  year  1850.  A  few  figures 
collected  at  St.  Louis  during  the  decade  beginning  with 
1841  indicate  the  end  of  the  period  in  which  the  many 
types  of  hand-power  boats  did  so  much  toward  peopling 
the  Mississippi  valley  and  in  transporting  its  settlers  and 
their  goods.  The  statistics  in  question  recorded  the  ar¬ 
rivals  at  St.  Louis  from  the  upper  Mississippi,  and  showed 


the  following  facts  :4 

Steamboats 

Keel-boats 

Arrivals 

in 

1841 . 

.  143 

108 

Arrivals 

in 

1842 . 

.  195 

88 

Arrivals 

in 

1843 . 

.  244 

55 

Arrivals 

in 

1845 . 

.  647 

Not 

reported 

Arrivals 

in 

1846 . 

.  663 

Not 

reported 

Corresponding  conditions  would  doubtless  be  revealed 
by  similar  tabulations  made  at  other  river  towns  if  they 

1  Neville’s  narrative:  “Hall”;  p.  130. 

2  Ibid:  p.  130. 

3  Ibid:  p.  130. 

4  The  figures  are  from  Hall’s  “The  West;  Its  Commerce  and  Navigation”:  p.  97. 

308 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 

were  available.  The  day  of  the  flatboat  and  keel-boat 
and  ark  was  done.  They  were  vehicles  of  an  archaic 
time  devised  for  a  work  which  could  not  have  been  per¬ 
formed  without  them,  and  by  their  necessary  aid  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  square  miles  came  under  the  sway  of  the 
white  race.1  Although  the  conquest  in  which  they  played 
the  vital  part  took  place  only  a  little  while  ago,  the  condi¬ 
tions  of  society  that  then  prevailed  —  so  swift  has  later 
development  been  —  seem  to  be  separated  from  modern 
life  by  an  interval  of  a  thousand  years.  If  by  a  fortunate 
chance  one  of  the  old-time  covered  flatboats  is  ever  ex¬ 
humed  in  its  completeness  of  form  and  furnishings  from 
a  river  bed,  no  other  relic  of  the  period  will  command 
more  interest  than  the  floating  cabin  in  which  some  back- 
woods  American  family  of  the  eighteenth  century  made 
the  water  pilgrimage  into  the  West. 

1  Among  the  states  affected  directly  or  indirectly  by  the  river  migrations,  and  that 
received  much  of  their  early  population  through  journeys  performed  in  whole  or  in  part 
on  the  interior  rivers  are  Arkansas,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Iowa,  Kansas,  Kentucky,  Louisiana* 
Michigan,  Minnesota,  Mississippi,  Missouri,  Ohio,  Tennessee  and  Wisconsin. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


INTERIOR  NEW  YORK  RE-OCCUPIED — HOW  FENIMORE  COOPER 
ACQUIRED  HIS  LOVE  OF  THE  WILDERNESS — TALLY- 
RAND  TELLS  WHY  HE  LAUGHED — THE  BALTIMORE 
AND  GENESSEE  STEAM  PACKET — A  WATER  ROUTE  TO 
THE  WEST — ADVENTURES  OF  MICHAUX,  CUMING  AND 
SCHULTZ — THE  MAN  FROM  ST.  LOUIS — A  VIEW  OF 
TRAVEL  CONDITIONS  AS  THEY  EXISTED  JUST  BEFORE 
THE  EPOCH  OF  MECHANICAL  VEHICLES 


HE  principal  overland  travel  development  in  the 


eastern  states  during  the  early  years  of  the  flatboat 
era1  in  the  West  was  one  by  which  northern  Pennsylvania 
and  the  interior  of  New  York  were  re-peopled  by  the 
whites  and  permanently  occupied.  During  the  advance  in 
question  the  Susquehanna  River — as  will  be  understood 
from  what  has  already  been  said— played  an  important 
part.  The  long  struggle  with  England,  together  with  the 
frontier  Indian  warfare  included  in  it,  had  driven  all 
white  inhabitants  out  of  the  country,  and  the  few  roads 
they  had  hewed  through  the  woods  with  so  much  labor 
were  overgrown  and  disappeared. 

There  was  no  idea  in  the  mind  of  the  people  when  the 
war  with  England  ended  but  that  all  future  conveniences 
of  travel  and  transportation  through  the  country  would 
have  to  be  created  by  the  improvement  of  methods  al¬ 
ready  known.  The  chief  reliance  of  those  who  gave 

1  From  1787  to  about  1805. 


310 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


serious  consideration  to  the  question  was  placed  in  a 
greater  usage  of  natural  waterways  and  the  building  of 
roads  or  canals  to  connect  them.  And  in  mentally  sur¬ 
veying  the  map  of  the  country  it  was  believed  that  the 
region  so  long  controlled  by  the  Iroquois  was  destined  to 


take  an  important  position  in  the  growth  of  future  na¬ 
tional  communication  facilities.  General  Washington  was 
one  of  those  to  whom  central  New  York  presented  oppor¬ 
tunities  of  value,  and  in  the  year  of  1783  he  ascended 
the  Mohawk  River,  from  which  stream  he  travelled 
overland  to  the  head  waters  of  the  Susquehanna  in  order 
to  study  the  problem  himself,  and  to  reflect  in  what  man¬ 
ner  the  people  might  most  easily  move  themselves  and 

311 


91. — More  steamboats  invented.  A  broadside  view  of  the  Baltimore  and 
Genessee  Packet.  Like  the  two  deck  plans  of  the  same  vessel  shown  in 
colored  plates,  it  is  done  in  India  ink  and  colors  on  a  large  folio  sheet  and 
reveals  the  lines  of  a  trim-looking  vessel.  Original  drawing  of  an  unknown 
American  inventor,  about  1801-1803. 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


their  effects  into  the  new  lands  soon  to  come  under 
American  control. 

“Prompted  by  these  actual  observations,”  he  said  in  a 
letter  describing  the  journey,1  “I  could  not  help  taking 
more  comprehensive  and  extensive  views  of  the  vast  in¬ 
land  navigation  of  these  United  States,  from  maps  and 
the  information  of  others,  and  could  not  but  be  struck 
with  the  immense  diffusion  and  importance  of  it,  and 
with  the  goodness  of  that  Providence  which  has  dealt 
her  favors  to  us  with  so  profuse  a  hand.  Would  to  God 
we  may  have  wisdom  enough  to  improve  them.”2 

Although  the  Revolution  had  postponed  the  overrun¬ 
ning  of  interior  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  it  resulted 
in  the  advance  of  a  large  number  of  people  to  those  dis¬ 
tricts  after  the  struggle  was  ended.  Many  men  from 
New  England  and  lower  Pennsylvania  had  moved 
through  the  regions  with  Arnold,  Sullivan,  Clinton  and 
other  generals,  and  had  observed  the  pleasant  nature  of  the 
country.  On  their  return  to  their  homes  after  the  war 
they  spread  a  knowledge  of  what  they  had  seen,  and  in 
that  way  the  emigration  was  given  its  new  impetus. 
Settlers  who  had  been  driven  out  also  prepared  to  return. 
The  ensuing  stampede  assumed  large  proportions  in 
the  year  of  1785,  and  grew  steadily  bigger  for  years  there¬ 
after.  Those  who  moved  into  interior  New  York  from 
the  lower  part  of  the  state  and  from  New  Jersey  made 
their  way  up  the  Hudson  in  sailing  boats  and  thence 
pushed  farther  inland  along  the  Mohawk  River  in 
batteaux,  carrying  their  worldly  possessions  with  them. 
Pennsylvania  people  destined  for  the  same  country  or 
for  the  northern  sections  of  their  own  state  went  up  the 

1  Written  to  the  Marquis  de  Chastelleux. 

2  Within  two  years  from  the  writing  of  the  wish  so  earnestly  expressed  in  this  letter, 
Fitch  laid  his  plan  for  steam  navigation  before  the  General,  who  rejected  it. 

312 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


92. — Oliver  Evans’  steamboat  of  1804,  built  at  Philadelphia  for  use  as  a  river 
dredge.  It  was  not  a  land  locomotive.  He  placed  wheels  under  the  hull 
and  ran  it  through  the  streets  to  demonstrate  that  steam  vehicles  could  be 
run  on  land  as  well  as  on  water. 

Susquehanna  in  the  way  others  had  done  years  before. 
New  England  emigrants  marched  overland  along  the 
existing  trails  and  roads. 

The  condition  of  the  present  beautiful,  fertile  and 
densely  populated  interior  of  New  York  state,  as  it  ap¬ 
peared  in  1785,  has  been  preserved  in  letters  written  by  one 
of  the  earliest  pioneers  who  journeyed  into  that  lonesome 
part  of  the  country  after  the  years  of  warfare  had  ceased.1 
The  writer  says:  “In  1785  I  visited  the  rough  and  hilly 
country  of  Otsego,  where  there  existed  not  an  inhabitant 
nor  any  trace  of  a  road.  I  was  alone,  300  miles  from 
home,  without  bread,  meat,  or  food  of  any  kind.  Fire 
and  fishing  tackle  were  my  only  means  of  subsistence. 
I  caught  trout  in  the  brook  and  roasted  them  in  the  ashes. 

1  William  Cooper,  father  of  the  novelist,  James  Fenimore  Cooper.  His  letters  were 
gathered  together  in  a  little  volume  published  in  Dublin  in  1810  under  the  title:  “A 
Guide  to  the  Wilderness:  Letters  to  William  Sampson.” 

313 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


My  horse  fed  on  the  grass  that  grew  by  the  edge  of  the 
waters.  I  laid  me  down  to  sleep  in  my  watch-coat,  noth¬ 
ing  but  the  melancholy  wilderness  around  me.  In  this 
way  I  explored  the  country,  formed  my  plans  of  future 
settlement,  and  meditated  upon  the  spot  where  a  place  of 
trade  or  a  village  should  afterward  be  established.”1 

After  his  first  trip,  here  mentioned,  William  Cooper 
returned  home  and  organized  a  party  to  proceed  to  the 
district  he  had  explored  and  settle  there.  Later  letters 
describe  the  journey  of  the  overland  emigrants.  “Not 
one  in  20  had  a  horse,”  he  declares.  “The  way  lay 
through  rapid  streams,  across  swamps,  or  over  bogs.  They 
had  neither  provisions  to  take  with  them  nor  money  to 
purchase  them;  nor  if  they  had,  were  any  to  be  found 
on  the  way.”  The  travellers  got  their  food  in  the  country 
they  traversed,  as  the  narrator  himself  had  done,  by 
hunting  and  fishing.  After  the  party  had  reached  the 
selected  spot  they  built  themselves  cabin  homes  and  set 
about  raising  crops  and  opening  the  country.  Cooper 
also  tells  of  the  people’s  trouble  in  establishing  roads  by 
which  they  might  get  into  touch  with  the  outside  world. 
In  the  first  year  or  two  they  found  winter  to  be  the  best 
time  for  their  journeys,  and  the  writer  goes  on  to  say, 
“they  travelled  sometimes  by  partial  roads  in  sleighs  and 
sometimes  over  the  ice.  ...  I  had  not  funds  of  my  own 
sufficient  for  the  opening  of  new  roads,  but  I  collected 
the  people  at  convenient  seasons,  and  by  joint  efforts  we 
were  able  to  throw  bridges  over  the  deep  streams,  and 
to  make,  in  the  cheapest  manner,  such  roads  as  suited 
our  then  humble  purposes.”  Similar  pioneer  work  was 
going  on  during  the  same  years  along  the  shores  of  numer- 

1  William  Cooper’s  letters  reveal  in  what  manner  his  more  famous  but  perhaps  not 
more  gifted  son  acquired  his  love  of  the  wilderness  and  the  excellence  with  which  he  de¬ 
scribed  its  features. 


314 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


ous  other  streams  and  lakes  in  New  York  state,  and  in 
that  way  the  forest  was  gradually  penetrated  by  many 
paths  which  in  time  connected  the  different  settlements 
and  linked  them  with  the  older  communities  toward  the 
east  and  south. 

Yet  the  process  of  creating  easy  and  rapid  communica¬ 
tion  throughout  all  the  extensive  region  that  lay  between 
the  Hudson  and  the  Ohio,  and  extended  from  Philadel¬ 
phia  on  the  south  to  Lakes  Erie  and  Ontario  was  a  very 
slow  one.  Until  about  the  year  1800  the  only  established 
and  frequented  travel  routes  in  it  were  the  Mohawk  and 
Susquehanna  Rivers,  the  road  extending  westward 


SCEEW  PBOPELLEB,  BEING-  THE  FIRST  FEBEY-BOAT 
BUN  FROM  HOBOKEN  TO  NEW  YOBK— BUILT  BY 

JOHN  STEYENS,  1804. 

. ~  - - -  > ... ... — —  ------ 


93. — John  Stevens’  screw  propeller  steamboat  of  1804.  Stevens  had  undertaken 
the  building  of  steamboats  as  a  result  of  Fitch’s  work.  He  and  his  friends 
used  the  craft  in  New  York  Bay  and  cn  the  Hudson  River,  but  it  was  not 
intended  as  a  public  ferry.  The  machinery,  in  a  reconstructed  hull,  is  in 
possession  of  the  Stevens  Institute. 

315 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 

* 

through  the  southern  part  of  Pennsylvania  to  Pittsburgh, 
and  the  trail  stretching  from  the  Hudson  at  Catskill  to  the 
upper  Susquehanna.  At  the  commencement  of  the  nine¬ 
teenth  century  scarcely  an  impression  had  been  made  on 
the  all-pervading  woods  in  the  territory  here  defined,  nor 
had  there  been  appreciable  decrease  in  the  difficulty  with 
which  a  journey  through  them  was  accomplished.  The 
people  still  moved  about  on  horseback  or  their  own  legs, 
drifted  with  the  currents  of  the  rivers  or  pushed  them¬ 
selves  up-stream  in  the  same  old  way.  Ten  years  after 
William  Cooper  first  penetrated  to  Otsego  Lake,  the 
Genessee  region  of  New  York  state  was  visited  by  the 
Frenchman  Talleyrand,1  who  later  penned  a  description 
of  his  trip.2  His  narrative  discloses  the  impression  which 
American  backwoods  life  and  travel  made  on  a  man  ac¬ 
customed  to  all  the  conveniences  civilization  could  then 
afford. 

“I  was  struck  with  astonishment,”  the  foreign  visitor 
wrote.  “At  less  than  154  miles  distance  from  the  capital3 
all  trace  of  men’s  presence  disappeared.  Nature,  in  all 
her  primeval  vigor,  confronted  us;  forests  as  old  as  the 
world  itself;  decayed  plants  and  trees  covering  the  very 
ground  where  they  once  grew  in  luxuriance;  thick  and 
intricate  bushes  that  often  barred  our  progress.  In  the 
face  of  these  immense  solitudes  we  gave  free  vent  to 
our  imaginations;  our  minds  built  cities,  villages  and 
hamlets.  .  .  .  To  be  riding  through  a  large  wild  forest, 
to  lose  one’s  way  in  it  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  and 
to  call  to  one’s  companion  in  order  to  ascertain  that  you 
are  not  missing  each  other;  all  this  gives  impressions  im- 


1  Then  residing  in  America  because  of  inclement  political  conditions  at  home. 

2  In  his  “Memoirs.”  Talleyrand  went  northward  from  Philadelphia  on  horseback  with 
a  friend,  and  returned  down  the  Susquehanna  in  a  batteau. 

a  Philadelphia  was  then  the  capital. 


316 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


possible  to  define.  .  .  .  When  I  cried,  ‘So-and-so,  are 
you  here,’  and  my  companion  replied,  ‘Unfortunately  I 
am,  my  Lord,’  I  could  not  help  laughing.” 

The  trouble  experienced  by  the  people  of  interior 
New  York  in  establishing  an  easy  route  to  the  outside 
world  resulted  in  again  bringing  forward  a  plan  for 
applying  steam  to  river  navigation.  Though  the  inven¬ 
tor  of  the  Baltimore  and  Genessee  Packet  is  unknown, 
his  plans  and  written  proposal  still  remain,  and  serve  to 
emphasize  the  many  gaps  to  be  filled  before  a  complete 
chronicle  of  the  earlier  days  is  available. 

The  drawings  of  the  nameless  inventor  are  reproduced 
in  this  narrative.  They  show  a  paddle-wheel  steamboat 
identical  in  its  essential  characteristics  with  the  steam 
river  vessels  destined  later  to  come  into  general  use.  Cer¬ 
tain  features  of  the  drawings  and  of  the  written  statements 
accompanying  them  fix  the  date  of  the  invention  sometime 
between  the  years  1801  and  1806,  inclusive.1 

The  dimensions  of  the  boat  as  given  on  one  of  the 
plans  are  “80  feet  long  22  feet  wide  and  Zy2  deep  or  4 
feet.”  The  paddles  are  stated  to  be  “18  inches  deep  and 
2]/2  [feet]  broad — 8  of  them  if  possible.”  The  rear  part 
of  the  boat,  says  the  inventor,  is  occupied  by  the  stern 
sheets,  “in  which  it  is  to  be  hoped  many  a  passenger  will 
be  lodged  and  under  these  broad  seats  lockers  where  much 
cold  provisions  may  be  kept  for  the  passengers  for  there 
must  be  no  cooking  on  board.”  Immediately  beneath  the 
broadside  view  of  the  vessel  are  the  words:  “This  being 
the  first  Steam  packet,2  we  will  call  her  the  lady  of  the 
lake  or  Washington  or  the  Genessee  and  Baltimore 

1  Probably  between  1801  and  1803.  The  history  and  condition  of  the  Genesee  country 
between  the  same  years  is  a  further  indication  that  this  vessel  was  designed  within  the 
period  named.  No  earlier  plans  of  any  steamboat  can  at  present  be  traced,  though  it  is 
possible  that  prior  drawings  exist.  Fitch’s  drawings  have  disappeared. 

2  The  inventor  had  seemingly  never  heard  of  Fitch’s  boat  of  1788-90. 

317 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


Packet.”  On  the  same  drawing  the  inventor  has  written, 
“Passengers  in  abundance  ...  all  for  Genessee,”  and  in 
another  part  of  the  broadside  view  he  refers  to  the  for¬ 
ward  flag  as  “a  Packet  signal  of  13  stripes,  the  true  good 
old  standard  of  76  the  origin  and  foundation  of  all  our 
happiness  and  independence — it  is  hoisted  occasionally 
only  and  as  a  signal  and  lure  for  passengers.” 

On  the  sheet  containing  an  amended  deck  plan  the 
projector  has  written  in  pencil  a  plea  in  support  of  his 
steamboat  in  which  he  refers  to  it  as  “my  discovery  and 
contrivance,”1  and  discusses  the  purposes  for  which  it  is 
to  be  used.  Enough  of  his  statement  is  decipherable  to 
show  the  craft  was  intended  to  ply  from  Baltimore  to  a 
point  as  far  up  the  Susquehanna  as  it  could  reach,  and 
that  he  was  submitting  the  plans  to  a  number  of  other 
men  for  their  endorsement  as  a  practical  improvement  in 
travel  vehicles.  The  still  readable  parts  of  the  written 
appeal  are  quoted.2  Unidentified  though  the  inventor 

1  Another  indication  that  he  had  never  heard  of  Fitch.  Had  he  known  of  the  exten¬ 
sive  use  of  a  steamboat  on  the  Delaware,  years  before,  it  is  rot  likely  he  would  have 
claimed  the  invention  of  it  for  himself  when  laying  these  drawings  before  other  men  in 
an  effort  to  secure  approval  of  his  proposition. 

2  Topmost  inscription  on  Deck  Plan  No.  2.  Line  arrangement  as  in  the  original 

manuscript  of  the  inventor.  Undecipherable  words  indicated  by  dots,  thus:  . 

Faint  but  apparent  readings  in  parenthesis. 

Line: 

1.— 108 

2.  — Set  up  end  ways  (in  the) 

3. — . 

4.  — I  suppose  50  more  might  be 

5.  — put  length  ways  upon  the 

6.  — top  of  the  others  and  in  the 

7.  — forcastle  about  50  (more)  end  up 

8.  — and  about  30  lengthways  but 

9.  — there  is  no  good  (unless) . 

10.  — untill  she  is  loaded  &  then 

11.  — we  shall  see  how  far  she 

12.  — sinks  in  the  water  .  .  .  (and  how) 

13.  — deep  the  (water)  ....  (Generally)  is 

14.  — and  those . to  ...  . 

15. — load  largely  (upon)  .  .  .  how  .  .  . 

16.  — lower  that . 

17.  —  (less)  than  a  boat  built 

18.  — of  th;s  size  by  way  of 

19.  — experiment  which 

20.  — might  be . (doubt) 

21.  — & . run  as  a  packet  up 

22.  — (or)  in  (exploring)  to  Genesee  .... 

23.  — &  on  . up  the 

24.  — small  rivers  branching 

25.  —  (into)  the  Susquehanna  to 

318 


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First  deck  plan  of  the  “Baltimore  and  Genesee  Steam  Packet.”  Original  draw¬ 
ing  for  an  early  American  side-wheel  steamboat  designed  to  run  from  Balti¬ 
more  up  the  Susquehanna  river  to  the  newly  settled  Genesee  Country.  The 
inventor  is  unknown.  Date  of  sketch  probably  about  1801-1803.  Drawing 
in  India  ink  and  colors  on  a  large  folio  sheet,  with  specifications  and  descrip¬ 
tion  in  marginal  manuscript.  Amer. 


r 


J 


Second  and  revised  deck-plan  of  the  “Baltimore  and  Genesee  Steam  Packet.” 
The  inventor  has  modified  the  lines  of  the  forward  part  of  the  hull  to  get 
greater  speed.  The  indicated  dimensions  are  70  feet  length,  23  feet  width, 
and  4 x/z  feet  depth  of  hold.  Each  paddle  wheel  to  have  eight  blades.  The 
faint  marginal  notes  on  this  plan,  so  far  as  decipherable,  are  quoted  elsewhere. 
Drawing  in  India  ink  and  colors  ^  a  large  folio  sheet.  Date,  about  1801- 
1803.  Amer. 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


of  this  steamboat  is,  his  drawings  and  words  reveal  an¬ 
other  of  the  early  and  forgotten  efforts  made  to  overcome 
an  age-long  handicap  under  which  the  people  so  labori¬ 
ously  struggled. 

The  state  government  of  New  York  began  to  display 
some  interest  in  the  question  of  better  highways  about  the 
year  1790,  and  took  control  of  the  road  leading  from  the 
Hudson  toward  the  Susquehanna.  In  1792  a  party  of 
travellers  passing  over  it  from  Connecticut  required  but 
eight  days  to  cover  the  distance  between  the  two  rivers, 
although  they  were  driving  live  stock  with  them.  The 
highway  was  then  twenty-five  feet  wide.  In  1792  a  weekly 


26.  — . (but  what)  such  (boats) 

27.  — could  do  (&  they) 

28.  — . certainly  (go) 

Another  statement  on  Plan  No.  2  reads: 

Line: 

1. — in  this  plan  I  have  lengthened  the 
2 — forecastle  part,  taking  in  about  a 

3.  — third  part  of  the  whole  into  nearly 

4.  — a  triangle,  believing  that 

5.  — such  a  form  would  more  rapidly 

6.  — force  up  stream  against  current  ....  downward 

7.  — which  is  the  great  desideratum 

Inscription  in  center  of  Deck  Plan  No.  2  at  bottom  of  the  sheet. 

Line: 

1.  — Cuts  great  economy  both  in  time  and  money 

2.  —  ...  (I  hope)  .  .  .  make  this  trip  .  .  .  any  other  system  &  (there) 

3.  —  .  .  .  very  .  .  .  are . (of)  Baltimore  up  into  the  upper  part 

4.  —  (of  Susquehanna)  ....  safely . is  also  worth 


5. — . and  safe  against  all  .  .  . 

6.  —  (to  land) . the 

7.  — . I  will  be . 

8. — . 


Inscription  in  lower  right  corner  of  Deck  Plan  No.  2. 

Line: 

1.  —  (I)  would  be  satisfied . (up  to  a  great) 

2.  — deal  (particularly)  in  carrying . 

3.  — of  (every)  kind . 

4.  —  .  .  .  and  rapid  (rivers)  of  that . a . 

6.— and  easy  conveyance . 

6.  — well  Gentlemen  this  is  all  ...  .  suppose 

7.  — that  my  discovery  and  contrivance  answers 

8.  — all  my . (say  it)  suggests  .... 

9.  —  (which  possibly)  may . 

10.  — . (and  when  saved)  ....  (you) 

11. — most  (sanguine  &)  enthusiastic . 

12.  —  (too  often) . only  & 

13.  — nothing  else . it  may  be  (sent) 

14.  — . (can  with  them) . 

15.  — However  ....  Gentlemen  judge  for  your 

16.  — selves . 

17.  — . A  great  (mind)  I  should. 

There  is  nothing  known  to  show  how  the  gentlemen  judged.  Three  sheets  of  worn 
paper  and  some  faintly  written  words  are  apparently  all  that  remain  of  the  eighth  or 
ninth  effort  to  introduce  steamboats  in  America.  A  complete  list  of  all  early  attempts 
of  the  sort  will  be  found  in  a  later  chapter. 

319 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA- 


mail  route  was  established  over  the  thoroughfare,  and 
from  that  time  onward  it  constantly  increased  in  im¬ 
portance.  Later  it  was  rebuilt  with  a  surface  of  stone 
and  gravel  and  became  known  as  the  Catskill  Turnpike. 
The  history  of  this  road  typified  the  last  stages  in  the 
development  of  all  similar  highways  by  which  they  were 


94. — Stevens’  twin-screw  propeller  of  1805.  Used  by  the  builder  as  his  former 
vessel  had  been.  Both  it  and  the  1804  boat  attained  speeds  of  from 
five  to  seven  miles  an  hour.  Machinery  in  possession  of  the  Stevens 
Institute. 

*» 

finally  transformed  from  red  men’s  trails  into  white  men’s 
routes  of  travel. 

By  the  year  1800  a  country-wide  demand  for  good 
turnpikes  was  manifest.  So  many  proposals  for  work  of 
the  character  were  introduced  in  every  legislature  that  it 
became  evident  the  states  themselves  could  not  undertake 
general  highway  construction.  They  were  too  poor,  and 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


yet  were  confronted  by  an  urgent  need  of  public  utilities 
demanding  an  outlay  of  millions  of  dollars.1  When  the 
method  of  successful  turnpike  construction  was  found, 
the  outcry  redoubled.  A  new  generation  had  grown  up 
since  the  Revolution,  and  was  fast  assuming  control  of 
all  those  matters — except  national  politics — that  con¬ 
cerned  the  mass  of  the  people.  Its  members  were  anxious 
to  improve  their  material  welfare  and  the  conditions  un¬ 
der  which  they  transacted  their  affairs  of  every  sort.  They 
lived  in  the  present  and  future;  not  in  the  past.  Looking 
backward  had  begun  to  go  out  of  fashion.  Whenever  an 
improvement  of  any  kind  was  proposed  they  considered  it 
on  its  merits,  no  matter  to  what  it  related,  and  accepted 
or  rejected  it  in  accordance  with  their  best  opinion  and 
limited  experience.  They  believed  their  country  was 
already  the  most  wonderful  nation  on  earth,  and  showed 
much  irritation  when  they  found  any  one  who  entertained 
doubt  on  the  question.  The  new  generation  of  Americans 
was  alert  of  mind,  quick  to  see  opportunities,  eager  to 
move  ahead  toward  wealth  and  power,  and  prompt  to 
invest  its  substance  in  any  enterprise  offering  advantage 
to  the  public  and  gain  to  itself. 

Out  of  these  new  qualities  of  public  thought  came  a 
suggestion  that  the  task  of  turnpike  building  be  turned 
over  to  private  companies  created  for  the  purpose.  The 
idea  was  adopted  through  all  the  country.  Under  its 
general  operation  many  thousands  of  miles  of  improved 
roads  were  constructed,  and  within  a  few  years  it  was 
possible  to  travel  by  stage-coach  from  the  Atlantic  Coast 
to  the  border  of  Indiana  in  about  two  weeks,  at  a  cost  of 
only  forty-five  or  fifty  dollars  exclusive  of  board  and 

1  Some  states  passed  laws  under  which  lotteries  wer£  organized,  and  the  proceeds 
from  the  sale  of  tickets,  after  the  prize  money  had  been  deducted,  were  devoted  to  the 
improvement  of  roads  and  the  building  of  bridges. 

321 


A  HISiORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


lodging.  But  in  order  to  make  the  journey  in  such  quick 
time  the  traveller  had  to  keep  going  sixteen  hours  of  every 
twenty-four  and  escape  accident  on  the  way.  His  total 
expenses  for  the  trip  were  usually  about  sixty-five  dollars.1 

The  companies  organized  to  build  new  roads  or  im¬ 
prove  old  ones  were  given  authority  by  the  states  in  which 
they  operated  to  charge  the  public  for  use  of  the  highways 
so  made,  and  in  that  manner  the  toll  system  was  estab¬ 
lished.  Toll-gates  sprang  up  like  mushrooms,  and  the 
driver  of  any  sort  of  vehicle  was  stopped  every  four  or 
five  miles — often  more  frequently — to  pay  for  the  privi¬ 
lege  of  going  farther.  The  practise  of  laying  out  wagon 
roads  by  private  enterprise  and  of  maintaining  them  un¬ 
der  corporate  management  remained  in  operation  for  a 
long  period.2 

The  new  public  attitude  toward  questions  relating  to 
the  advancement  of  the  country  was  a  most  important 
feature  of  the  time.  Men  commenced  to  fret  at  the  ob¬ 
stacles  to  communication  so  long  accepted  as  a  necessary 
part  of  their  surroundings.  News  came  back  from  the 
western  country  of  the  immensity  of  the  lately  settled  re¬ 
gion  and  its  possibilities  as  a  home,  a  producing  section 
and  a  market  for  many  commodities.  Little  groups  as¬ 
sembled  to  talk  of  such  things.  The  mental  horizon  of 
the  people  expanded  enormouslv.  and  the  shadow  of 
their  future  power  fell  upon  them.  It  was  prescience, 
more  than  vainglory,  which  impelled  the  people  to 

1  No  one  stage-coach  company  or  proprietor  in  the  East  ever  had  facilities  to  carry 
people  any  such  distance.  Usually  a  stage  company  ran  its  vehicles  for  a  day’s  journey 
each  way  from  its  headquarters.  Passengers  were  then  transferred  to  the  vehicles  of 
another  proprietor.  Often  there  existed  a  sort  of  traffic  arrangement  whereby  the  coach 
of  one  owner  awaited  the  arrival  of  another.  West  of  Wheeling,  in  the  earliest  days, 
stage  wagons  were  used  before  regular  stage-coaches  appeared.  The  average  fare  paid! 
by  a  traveller  on  a  journey  to  the  West  was  abo  it  five  cents  a  mile. 

2  Many  of  the  toll  road  franchises  have  only  lapsed  in  recent  years,  and  a  few  are 
still  effective.  Maryland,  and  perhaps  other  states,  yet  possess  toll-gates.  Not  until' 
after  the  Civil  War  did  the  various  commonwealths  generally  adopt  a  policy  under  which 
roadways  were  considered  public  works  to  be  created  and  maintained  by  the  people  them¬ 
selves  and  used  without  toll  fees. 


322 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


BRIDGE  AND  TURNPIKE  LOTTERY 


'ig'Ss.  ‘  TIUS’YLIiet  will  emul*  the  Possessor  t<>  such PRIZR  as  shr.l!  be  drawn  to  its  Number,  in  LOTTiypr  {■ 
^V*KO.  Y.j  authorised  by  an  act  of  the  Legishmiw,  L’ths  same  u  Joji landed  within  sis.  months  after  the  concision 
fyA^>tlraw  uig.  Subject  to  a  deduction  of  15  per  cent. 


Commissioner, 


[WUfcj  •  Charleston.  (S.  C  )  April, 


95. — Soon  after  the  year  1800  a  general  demand  for  better  roads  arose.  Some 
of  the  states,  instead  of  appropriating  money  or  levying  taxes  directly 
for  the  purpose,  fostered  a  widespread  gambling  mania  by  organizing 
and  conducting  “Bridge  and  Turnpike  Lotteries”  to  secure  the  needed 
funds.  Lotteries  were  very  popular.  Churches  were  occasionally  erected 
by  their  aid. 


proclaim  so  boastfully  the  might  that  did  not  yet  exist. 

As  a  consequence  of  political  and  social  developments 
then  taking  place,  it  became  the  custom,  soon  after  1800, 
for  many  men  of  the  old  states  to  make  extensive  excur- 
sions  through  all  the  country  east  of  the  Mississippi  in 
order  to  see  for  themselves  the  new  conditions  and  judge 
in  what  manner  the  nation  as  a  whole  was  likely  to  be 
affected  by  them.  Numerous  foreign  visitors,  similarly 
interested  in  the  subject,  came  to  studv  at  first  hand  the 
situation  created  bv  the  birth  and  expansion  of  a  common¬ 
wealth  so  favorably  endowed.  On  their  return  to  the 
East  or  to  Europe  the  investigators  were  overwhelmed  by 
demands  for  precise  information  regarding  what  they  had 
seen  and  how  they  had  got  about  through  the  outlying 
territories.  Such  inquiries  and  the  widespread  interest 
revealed  through  them  led  to  the  writing  of  a  number 
of  books  by  men  who  had  journeyed  in  the  interior,  and 
their  narratives  are  the  chief  sources  of  present  knowledge 
concerning  American  life  and  manners  during  the  first 
decade  of  the  last  century.  Among  the  individuals  who 
undertook  such  explorations  and  whose  stories  of  wan- 

323 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


derings  are  highly  esteemed  were  Fortesque  Cuming,1 
Christopher  Schultz2  and  F.  A.  Michaux.3  A  capitula¬ 
tion  of  some  of  the  incidents  told  by  those  chroniclers4 
will  reveal  the  travel  conditions  prevailing  just  before  the 
beginning  of  the  modern  epoch  of  scientific,  machine- 
driven  vehicles. 

Michaux  comments  on  the  new  quality  that  had  come 
so  prominently  into  the  national  life  with  the  generation 
after  the  Revolution.  “There  prevails  in  the  United 
States,”  he  declares,  “a  degree  of  public  spirit  which  in¬ 
duces  individuals  to  adopt  any  project  that  may  tend  to 
enrich  the  country  by  agriculture  and  commerce.”  He 
began  his  journey  from  Charleston,  in  South  Carolina, 
and  indicates  that  almost  all  travel  between  the  South 
and  North  was  then  undertaken  by  way  of  the  sea  in 
sailing  vessels  “tastefully  fitted  up  and  conveniently  ar¬ 
ranged  for  the  reception  of  passengers.”  The  usual  time 
consumed  in  the  trip  to  New  York  was  ten  days,  and  the 
charge  was  forty  or  fifty  dollars.  From  New  York  he 
went  to  Philadelphia  in  a  stage-coach.  A  day  or  more 
was  still  required  to  move  between  the  two  cities,  and  a 
seat  cost  five  dollars.  At  the  inns  he  paid  half  a  dollar 
for  breakfast,  a  dollar  for  dinner  and  half  a  dollar  for 
supper.  The  stage  driver  also  got  fifty  cents  from  each 
passenger,  the  giving  of  which  seemed  to  be  customary. 

Leaving  Philadelphia  the  traveller  set  out  for  Pitts¬ 
burgh,  where  he  thought  his  voyage  down  the  Ohio  was 

1  Cuming-  was  an  Englishman  of  culture  and  wide  experience  in  many  countries. 
Hi$  book,  “Sketches  of  a  Tour  to  the  Western  Country,”  was  printed  in  Pittsburgh  in 
181D.  Cuming  began  his  journey  in  1807  and  moved  about  for  two  years  or  more. 

.  2  Schultz’  narrative  is  called  “Travels  on  an  Inland  Voyage,”  and  describes  the 
country  in  1807-8. 

3  Michaux  was  a  French  physician  and  scientist.  His  “Travels  to  the  Westward  of 
the  Alleghany  Mountains”  was  issued  in  Paris  and  republished  in  England  in  1805. 
Michaux’  trip  was  made  in  1802. 

4  Like  all  travellers  they  made  some  mistakes,  but  they  were  observers  without 
extreme  bias  and  their  descriptions  of  .the  country  and  statements  of  personal  experiences 
are  generally  trustworthy.  The  principal  errors  in  their  narratives  have  to  do  with  dates 
in  antecedent  American  history.  Cuming  makes  several  mistakes  of  that  nature. 

324 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


to  begin,  and  got  as  far  as  Shippensburg  by  regular  lines 
of  stage-coaches.  The  distance  thus  covered  was  a  hun¬ 
dred  and  forty  miles.  “From  Shippensburg  to  Pitts¬ 
burgh,”  Michaux  goes  on  to  say,  “the  distance  is  170 
miles;  and  the  stages  not  going  farther,  you  are  obliged  to 


96. — Robert  Fulton  begins  his  building  of  steamboats  in  America.  His  first 
successful  vessel,  the  Clermont ,  as  she  appeared  in  1807.  No  authenticated 
contemporary  picture  of  the  craft  is  known.  The  one  here  shown  is  probably 
the  most  reliable,  and  was  done  from  personal  recollection  by  Richard 
Varick  De  Witt,  in  1858.  The  original  drawing,  from  which  this  is  a 
photograph,  belongs  to  the  New  York  Historical  Society.  The  next  four 
illustrations  are  also  of  Fulton’s  work. 


perform  the  rest  of  the  journey  on  foot,  or  to  purchase  a 
horse,  of  which  there  are  always  many  for  sale;  but  the 
country  people  are  such  cheats  that  they  always  make 
you  pay  double  the  value  for  them;  and  on  arriving  at 
Pittsburgh  you  are  obliged  to  dispose  of  them  for  half 
what  they  cost.  I  was  inclined,  from  motives  of  economy, 
to  travel  the  rest  of  the  way  on  foot,  but  from  some  re¬ 
marks  which  were  made  to  me,  I  thought  proper  to  join 
with  an  American  officer  who  had  travelled  with  me  in 
the  stage,  and  was  likewise  going  to  Pittsburgh;  we  there¬ 
fore  bought  a  horse  between  us,  on  which  we  rode  thither 
by  turns.”  He  reached  Pittsburgh  nine  days  after  leaving 

325 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


Philadelphia,  only  three  days  of  the  interval  having  been 
spent  in  stages.  His  average  speed  over  the  whole  dis¬ 
tance  was  not  quite  thirty-five  miles  a  day. 

Michaux  changed  his  plans  on  arriving  at  Pittsburgh 
and  walked  to  Wheeling,  in  Virginia,  a  town  of  twenty- 
six  houses.  There  he  bought  a  log  canoe  twenty-four  feet 
long,  eighteen  inches  wide  and  equally  deep,  and  with  a 
companion  picked  up  on  the  way,  started  down  the  Ohio 
River.  “We  covered  our  canoe  for  one-quarter  of  its 
length,”  he  says,  “with  a  piece  of  canvas  stretched  on  two 
hoops.1  In  less  than  three-quarters  of  an  hour  all  our 
arrangements  were  made  for  continuing  our  voyage.  .  .  . 
We  left  Wheeling  at  six  o’clock  in  the  evening.  We  made 
twelve  miles  that  evening,  and  stopped  for  the  night  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  Ohio.  .  .  .  Although  we  had  ad¬ 
vanced  only  twelve  miles  we  were,  nevertheless,  fatigued, 
less  from  paddling  continually  than  from  remaining  con¬ 
stantly  in  a  sitting  posture,  with  extended  legs.  Our 
canoe,  the  bottom  of  which  was  very  narrow,  compelled 
us  to  keep  that  position:  the  slightest  motion  would  have 
exposed  us  to  upset.  At  the  expiration  of  a  few  days 
custom  caused  these  inconveniences  to  disappear,  and  we 
proceeded  on  our  journey  with  comparative  ease  and 
comfort.  .  .  .  Our  second  day’s  progress  was  30  miles; 
the  third,  40.  .  .  .” 

The  two  men  frequently  fell  in  with  all  the  various 
species  of  craft  so  numerous  on  the  river,  and  Michaux’s 
first  vision  of  an  emigrant  flatboat  is  described  in  the 
following  words: 

“I  could  not  conceive  what  such  large  square  boxes 
could  be,  which  seemed  abandoned  to  the  current,  pre¬ 
senting  alternately  their  ends,  their  sides,  and  even  their 

1  As  a  protection  against  the  sun.  It  was  July,  and  very  warm. 

326 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


angles.  As  they1  advanced  I  heard  a  confused  noise,  with¬ 
out  distinguishing  anything,  on  account  of  the  height  of 
the  sides.  On  ascending  the  banks  of  the  river  I  per¬ 
ceived  in  these  boats  several  families,  bringing  with  them 
their  horses,  cows,  fowls,  carts,  ploughs,  harness,  beds,  in¬ 
struments  of  husbandry;  in  short,  all  the  furniture 
requisite  for  house-keeping,  agriculture,  and  the  manage¬ 
ment  of  a  farm.  These  people  had  thus  abandoned  them¬ 
selves  to  the  water  for  several  hundred  miles,  probably 
without  knowing  where  they  might  stop,  to  exercise  their 
industry  and  to  enjoy  in  peace  the  fruit  of  their  labors.” 

Many  references  to  the  appearance  of  the  country  are 
contained  in  the  relation  of  the  trip.  When  about  thirty- 
six  miles  above  Marietta,  as  an  example,  the  narrator 
measured  a  plane  tree2  forty-seven  feet  in  circumference 
at  a  distance  of  four  feet  above  the  ground,  and  whose 
girth  was  maintained  practically  undiminished  “to  a 
height  of  fifteen  or  twenty  feet.”  In  commenting  on  the 
monster  vegetable,  Michaux  goes  on  to  say:  “Our  host 
informed  us  that  if  we  would  pass  the  day  with  him  he 
would  show  us  trees  of  equal  size  in  other  parts  of  the 
wood.” 

Thus  the  voyagers  drifted  along  for  ten  days  until 
they  reached  Limestone,  in  Kentucky.  They  had  come 
only  three  hundred  and  forty-eight  miles,  “during  which,” 
Michaux  says,  “we  were  obliged  to  paddle  incessantly.” 
The  slowness  of  his  progress  decided  him  to  quit  the  river 
at  Limestone,  and  leaving  his  companion  to  continue  on 
alone,  he  struck  off  overland  on  the  road  to  Lexington. 
The  distance  was  sixty-five  miles,  and  he  got  there  in  two 
days  and  a  half.  At  Lexington  he  bought  another  horse 

1  It  was  apparently  a  fleet  of  five  or  six  boats  only  partly  roofed  over;  a  combination 
of  flatboat  and, ark. 

2  Platanus  'occidentals. 

327 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


without  commenting  on  the  transaction,  and  proceeded 
southward  along  the  road  to  Nashville,  in  Tennessee,  at 
the  rate  of  nearly  thirty  miles  a  day.  From  Nashville, 
which  settlement  he  left  on  September  5th,  Michaux 
travelled  eastward  along  an  old  wilderness  road  and 


'  /'V  .< 


?':/  ?>><><  <  r  .'<s*  <  f  .<JJ-r.rr,'y<r/  'Ar  t‘6t 

/,  •/ tf  m  /■>«•//  *.  •*><  /  't /■  fr jt:  '.Y 


/i  vrr'*’  /.  .*>  (.>'<#■  (''c.W-i  .  {//// 

.  /i/>> ft .  S  /  y  t?.-*  ><*  * 
/<  /"&/*  <  .4  ■  >  >  ■  ■ 


/}(/ 


//.a! 


f  .  '  ■'  •  - 

V/5  ///#> 

’  Sno^orft  -ffUloth'aL  'iomh/ 

,  //'*,>  i/  'X*  <4  /■: 

v,,0.,  ,',.//>%  /'■  /...*■  ■ 


‘  c  >  //  /  //v  (Sr  .'Jr  /  firi  / !'/  f  f/tf  f< 

:  - - -  «,V  r>-s<Uri  //.  .  >£/>?//*  <,/  ('//  ((Hi'/?/ 

//  ••  -#<y  V.  fr'-r  (  £*  frttc,. 


Jf 


♦-  '  *  /  S  ' 
’V  TVi 


97. — The  Clermont  as  she  appeared  in  1808,  after  being  lengthened  and  haying 
her  paddle-wheels  enclosed.  From  a  photograph  of  the  drawing  by 
De  Witt  in  the  collections  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society. 


reached  Morgantown,  in  North  Carolina — a  distance  of 
six  hundred  miles — in  just  one  month.  “I  arrived  in 
Charleston,”  he  concluded,  “on  the  18th  of  October,  1802, 
three  months  and  a  half  after  my  departure  from  Phila¬ 
delphia,  having  gone  through  a  space  of  nearly  eighteen 
hundred  miles.”  The  visitor  from  abroad  had  found  it 

328 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


either  impossible  or  inconvenient  to  avail  himself  of 
stage-coaches  for  all  but  a  hundred  and  forty  miles  of 
the  distance.  For  almost  the  whole  trip  he  went  on  horse¬ 
back,  on  foot,  or  on  the  water. 

In  the  same  year  of  1802  an  unbroken  communication 
by  stage-coaches  was  opened  from  Boston  to  Savannah,  in 
Georgia.  The  details  of  the  through  trip  if  then  per¬ 
formed  by  land  in  the  most  expeditious  time,  were  as 
here  given: 


rp  9 

I  ime 

Stage-coach  fare 

Boston  to  New  York . 

4  days 

$10.00 

New  York  to  Philadelphia.  . 

,  days 

5.00 

Philadelphia  to  Charleston. 

IS  days 

50.00 

Charleston  to  Savannah. . .  . 

2  days 

5.00 

Totals . . 

.22V?,  days 

$70.00 

The  distance  traversed  by  the  stage-coaches  between 
Boston  and  Savannah  was  about  one  thousand  two  hun¬ 
dred  miles,  and  the  average  speed  maintained  by  the 
passenger  was  some  fifty-three  miles  a  day.  In  addition 
to  the  cost  of  transportation  he  spent  at  least  twenty-five 
dollars  for  board  and  lodging. 

Fortescue  Cuming,  like  Michaux,  first  proceeded 
overland  from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburgh.1  He  walked 
the  entire  distance  and  was  twenty-seven  days  on  the  way. 
Thence  he  also  went  down  the  river,  on  which  part  of  his 
journey  we  need  not  follow  him  except  to  notice  two 
circumstances  mentioned  in  his  narrative.  The  first  of 
them  discloses — as  did  Michaux’s  reference  to  the  big 
trees — the  change  wrought  in  the  appearance  of  the  coun¬ 
try  and  in  other  related  conditions  since  those  days.  He 


1  Starting  in  January  of  1807. 


329 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


98. — The  Paragon,  Fulton’s  fourth  boat,  built  in  1811  for  use  on  the  Hudson 
River.  She  was  173  feet  long,  had  two  masts,  and  under  steam  power, 
without  the  aid  of  sails,  developed  a  speed  of  about  five  or  six  miles 
an  hour. 

observed  cotton  growing  as  far  north  as  Portsmouth,  in 
Ohio,  and  saw  vast  numbers  of  bright  plumaged  paroquets 
in  the  same  locality.  The  other  incident  was  his  en¬ 
counter  with  a  man  who  was  paddling  up  the  Ohio  in  a 
canoe.  It  developed  that  the  up-stream  voyager  lived  in 
St.  Louis,  and  was  on  his  way  to  visit  his  brother  in  Pitts¬ 
burgh.  He  had  been  seven  weeks  on  the  water  and 
expected  to  reach  his  destination  in  less  than  three  weeks 
more.1 

Cuming  continued  down  the  river  to  Kentucky,  and 
after  investigating  the  resources  of  the  state2  he  turned 
northward  into  Ohio,  which  he  crossed  over  the  newly 

1  Fourteen  or  fifteen  hours  are  now  necessary  for  the  same  trip. 

2  In  Lexington  he  found  39  two-wheeled  gigs  and  chaises,  21  four-wheeled  coaches  and 
4  bilFard  tables. 

The  Golden  Eagle  tavern  at  Frankfort  had  a  dining-room  72  feet  long,  and  the  flies 
were  kept  from  the  food  by  negro  girls  who  waved  green  silk  fans.  The  host  presided 
in  state  at  the  head  of  the  table.  Beef  was  four  cents  a  pound,  and  a  quarter  of  lamb 
25  cents.  Vegetables,  the  writer  says,  were  cheap.  All  the  big  Kentucky  taverns  had 
bells  on  their  roofs  which  were  rung  at  meal  times  to  summon  the  guests. 

330 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


improved  post-road  extending  eastward  through  Chilli- 
cothe,  Lancaster  and  Zanesville  to  Wheeling.1  “I  ex¬ 
perienced  amongst  these  honest  and  friendly  farmers  real 
hospitality,”  he  relates,  “for  they  vied  with  each  other 
in  lodging  me  at  their  houses  and  in  giving  me  a  hearty 
and  generous  welcome.”2  In  West  Union  he  stopped  for 
breakfast  at  a  tavern  and  partook  of  bread  and  butter, 
eggs,  and  milk,  for  which  he  offered  the  customary  quarter 
of  a  dollar.  But  the  landlord  “would  receive  only  the 
half  of  that  sum,  saying  even  that  was  too  much.”  Cum¬ 
ing  was  considerably  impressed  by  the  incident,  for  he 
says  “such  instances  of  modest  and  just  honesty  rarely 
occur.”  Proceeding  blithely  along  the  road  with  twelve 
and  a  half  cents  more  in  his  pocket  than  he  had  expected 
to  possess,  the  pedestrian  was  soon  afterward  overtaken 
by  a  man  on  horseback  with  whom  he  struck  acquaintance 
in  the  manner  of  the  highway.  The  stranger  was  going 
from  western  North  Carolina  to  Chillicothe,  and  had 
traversed  the  five  hundred  miles  in  three  weeks. 

Encounters  like  that  were  constantly  occurring 
through  all  the  expanses  west  of  the  Alleghanies.  The 
standard  greeting  was:  “From  what  part  of  the  world 
did  you  come,  stranger?”  The  roads  were  full  of  pil¬ 
grims  from  everywhere;  some  trudging  alone;  others 
mounted ;  still  others  in  the  big  canvas  covered  wagons. 
“I  found  .  .  .”  says  Cuming,  “a  little  old  man.  He 
buckled  on  his  knapsack,  and  we  proceeded  together.  He 
had  travelled  on  foot  from  Tennessee  River,  through  a 

1  His  story  of  that  part  of  the  trip  makes  his  narrative  one  of  the  most  valuable  of  all 
accounts  descriptive  of  conditions  prevailing  along  an  early  American  land  artery  of 
travel.  The  Ohio  section  of  the  road,  before  being  taken  over  by  the  state — a  few  years 
prior  to  Cuming’s  trip — was  known  as  “Zane’s  Trace.”  It  was  laid  out  in  part  by 
the  pioneer  Zane  in  1796,  and  for  a  few  years  thereafter  was  not  available  for  wheeled 
vehicles.  When  Cuming  went  over  it  stage  wagons  were  running  regularly.  The  road 
crossed  into  Kentucky  at  Maysville,  and  was  the  principal  overland  route  southward 
through  Kentucky,  Tennessee  and  all  the  lower  Mississ:ppi  region  to  New  Orleans. 

2  Cuming  here  refers  to  private  farmhouses;  not  to  inns. 

331 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


part  of  the  state  of  Tennessee,  quite  across  Kentucky,  and 
so  far  in  Ohio  in  nine  days,  at  the  rate  of  thirty-six  miles 
a  day.”  The  little  old  man  had  gone  down  the  rivers 
from  Wheeling  as  part  of  a  flatboat  crew  and  was  re¬ 
turning  home  again.  The  companions  came  in  the 
evening  time  to  a  log-cabin  tavern,  where  they  were 
received  with  hospitality  in  the  shape  of  a  concert  organ¬ 
ized  by  the  host  to  entertain  them.  “Three  of  his  sons 
play  the  violin  by  ear,”  remarks  Cuming.  “They  had 
two  shocking  bad  violins,  one  of  which  was  of  their  own 
manufacture,  on  which  they  scraped  away  without  mercy. 
I  attempted  to  seem  pleased,  and  I  believe  succeeded  in 
making  them  think  I  was  so.”1 

Near  the  little  town  of  Cambridge,  then  a  few  months 
old  and  with  but  twelve  log  cabins,  the  Englishman  met 
a  travelling  Massachusetts  family.  So  admirable  was  the 
system  its  members  pursued  while  on  the  march,  and  so 
many  the  comforts  they  enjoyed,  that  he  speaks  of  the 
party  and  its  methods  with  admiration.  “They  had  a 
wagon  with  four  horses,”  he  explains,  “and  a  saddle 
horse  rode  by  one  of  the  girls.  On  their  stopping,  the 
daughters  began  directly  to  prepare  supper  as  though 
they  were  at  home,  baked  bread  enough  to  serve  them 
that  night  and  next  day,  and  then  they  sat  down  to 
sewing  as  composedly  as  if  they  had  been  in  their  own 
house,  and  not  on  a  journey;  while  the  boys  took  care  of 
the  horses,  and  the  old  couple,  though  still  active  and 
healthy,  sat  at  their  ease,  chatting  and  enjoying  them¬ 
selves.” 

Cuming  had  entered  Ohio  at  a  point  opposite  Mays- 
ville  on  August  6th  of  1807,  and  he  reached  Pittsburgh 
on  August  21st,  having  travelled  by  easy  marches  on 

1  Cuming  himself  was  a  musician  and  a  performer  on  the  instrument.  He  must  have 
suffered  more  than  he  tells. 

332 


99. — One  of  Fulton’s  boats,  possibly  the  Paragon.  Altered  from  an  earlier  engraving  of  the  same  scene  in  which  the 
vessel  was  shown  with  sails.  In  this  picture,  Hewitt,  the  engraver,  forgot  to  remove  the  shadows 
of  the  sails  that  no  longer  exist.  From  a  sketch  made  by  the  early  artist  James  Glennie. 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


foot,  in  the  saddle  and  in  the  stage  wagons,  three  of  which 
passed  each  way  during  a  week’s  time.  He  commented  on 
the  bad  state  of  the  roads  as  compared  with  those  in  his 
own  country,  and  marvelled  at  the  skill  of  stage  drivers. 
“Though  the  European  drivers  far  exceed  the  American 
in  dexterity  and  speed  on  their  fine  roads,”  was  his 
opinion,  “in  this  country  they  would  be  good  for  nothing, 
and  would  pronounce  it  impossible  to  get  a  carriage 
through  roads  that  the  American  driver  dashes  through 
without  a  thought.”  , 

Christopher  Schultz  began  his  journey  into  the  West 
from  New  York  City  and  went  all  the  way  by  the  water 
route.  Upon  reducing  his  narrative  to  a  table  showing 
the  schedule  of  his  movements  between  New  York  and 
Pittsburgh,  the  following  result  is  obtained: 

Miles.  Method.  Days. 

New  York  to  Albany ...  160 ..  Hudson  river  steam¬ 
boat  .  \y2 

Albany  to  Schenectady.  .  15.  .turnpike .  \]/2 

Schenectady  to  Utica.  .  .104.  .5  ton  keel-boat .  5 

Utica  to  Oswego . 104  .5  ton  keel-boat .  3 

Oswego  to  Lewiston.  .  .  .  172.  .lake  sailing  boat .  3 

Lewiston  to  Black  Rock.  17.  .mud  road .  1 y2 

Black  Rock  to  Presque 

Isle .  90 ..  lake  sailing  vessel.  .  .  2 

Presque  Isle  to  Le  Boeuf  14.  .turnpike .  1 

Le  Boeuf  to  Pittsburgh.  .240.  .  10  ton  keel-boat .  5 

Totals . ....916  23J4 

His  average  daily  rate  of  travel  between  the  two 
towns  was  therefore  a  little  less  than  forty-one  miles. 

The  all-water  route  to  the  interior  of  the  country 

334 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


100. — The  Chancellor  Livingston,  Fulton’s  last  boat.  Completed  after  his  death 
in  1816.  She  was  156  feet  long,  and  the  fastest  steamboat  yet  constructed. 
The  cabin  had  118  sleeping  berths  for  passengers.  Engraved  from  a 
drawing  by  the  Swedish  traveller  Klinckowstrom. 


had  been  in  use  ever  since  the  end  of  the  Revolution, 
and  such  part  of  it  as  lay  between  New  York  City  and 
Lake  Erie  was  a  thoroughfare  for  many  years  before 
that  time.  Previous  to  the  date  of  Schultz’  excursion  a 
traveller  ascended  the  Hudson  River  to  Albany  in  a  sail¬ 
boat,  and  then,  after  a  short  overland  jaunt  of  fifteen  miles 
to  Schenectady,  embarked  on  the  Mohawk  and  Oswego 
Rivers  and  so  reached  Lake  Ontario.  Schultz  did  the 
same  in  all  respects  save  that  he  went  up  the  Hudson  in 
a  boat  propelled  by  steam  power  which  had  just  been  com¬ 
pleted  by  an  American  artist  and  inventor  named  Robert 
Fulton.  The  craft  that  conveyed  him  on  the  first  in¬ 
stallment  of  his  trip  was  the  celebrated  Clermont.  At 
Oswego  Schultz  found  passage  on  a  lake  schooner  about 
to  depart  for  Lewiston,  a  little  New  York  town  on 
the  Niagara  River,  near  its  mouth,  where  he  arrived  in 
three  days.  Thence  he  pushed  overland  for  seventeen 
miles  to  the  site  whereon  Buffalo  was  to  arise,  a  spot 

335 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


then  also  called  Black  Rock.  No  wagon  road  existed 
across  the  portage;  only  a  horse  path. 

At  Black  Rock  he  once  more  embarked  on  a  schooner, 
but  the  current  in  the  lake  moved  so  swiftly  toward  Niag¬ 
ara  River  that  the  boat  had  to  be  pulled  for  some  distance 
by  oxen  before  it  dared  venture  out  on  the  open  water. 
Head  winds  arose,  and  the  run  of  90  miles  to  Presque  Isle 
required  two  days  for  its  accomplishment.  The  road  from 
Presque  Isle  to  Fort  Le  Boeuf1  was  a  sad  imitation  of  a 
highway,  although  it  had  been  opened  by  the  French  as 
early  as  1752;  and  Schultz,  though  mounted,  could  hardly 
cover  more  than  a  mile  in  an  hour.  He  struggled  from 
sunrise  to  darkness  in  a  mud  puddle  fifteen  miles  long. 
So  absurd  was  the  road  in  question  that  wagons  hauled 
by  three  pairs  of  oxen  were  sometimes  three  days  in 
accomplishing  the  distance. 

Coming  at  last  to  the  little  settlement  where  his  em¬ 
barkation  as  an  inland  navigator  was  to  take  place,  the 
traveller  found  to  his  astonishment  that  French  Creek 
would  scarcely  float  a  duck.  It  was  normally  but  four 
inches  deep,  yet  the  stream  was  navigable  for  keel-boats 
of  considerable  size,  and  Schultz’  experience  was  but  an 
illustration  of  the  expedients  to  which  men  of  that  period 
resorted.  He  simply  waited  for  rain.  The  downpour 
came  at  last,  and  continued  for  six  hours.  With  its 
beginning  the  whole  town  bustled  into  excitement,  ac¬ 
tivity  and  confusion.  Eight  newly  built  keel-boats  were 
hastily  loaded,  and  all  those  who  for  any  reason  desired 
to  go  to  Pittsburgh  or  the  West  made  ready  for  de¬ 
parture.  In  twenty-four  hours  the  creek  was  a  muddy 
torrent  two  feet  deep,  and  away  floated  another  install¬ 
ment  of  the  French  Creek  navy,  never  to  come  back  again. 

1  Waterford,  on  the  head  waters  of  French  Creek. 

336 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


A  rapid  rise  in  a  little  stream  was  called  a  fresh,  and 
by  taking  instant  advantage  of  such  a  sudden  temporary 
increase  in  water  it  was  sometimes  possible  to  use  big 
boats  for  fifty  or  a  hundred  miles  on  trifling  creeks  other¬ 
wise  but  ankle  deep  in  their  upper  reaches.  Every  brook 
in  all  the  outlying  regions  was  utilized  in  this  way,  and 


FIRST  BOAT  BUILT  ON  THE  WESTERN  WATERS,  1812. 

7 


301. — The  New  Orleans,  first  steamboat  to  navigate  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi. 
She  was  built  at  Pittsburgh  by  Nicholas  Roosevelt  in  1811,  and  under  his 
guidance  reached  New  Orleans  early  in  the  following  year.  Fulton  and 
Livingston  were  the  proprietors  of  the  craft,  which  was  constructed  and 
sent  south  as  part  of  the  plan  by  which  the  owners  were  seeking  to  obtain 
a  monopoly  of  steam  transportation  in  America. 


a  fresh  was  then  looked  upon,  by  the  inhabitants  along 
the  affected  rivulet,  very  much  as  a  special  excursion  train 
is  now  considered  by  a  small  railroad  town.  A  transporta¬ 
tion  schedule  arranged  on  that  basis  was  somewhat  irregu¬ 
lar  and  uncertain,  to  be  sure,  but  it  was  the  best  that  could 
be  provided  in  many  localities. 

337 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


Schultz  thus  descended  French  Creek  for  about  a 
hundred  miles.  Whenever  one  of  the  boats  ran  aground, 
which  was  often,  everybody  in  it  jumped  out  and  pushed. 
There  could  be  no  delay,  for  the  craft  had  to  be  kept  on 
the  crest  of  the  high  water.  After  the  party  had  reached 
the  Alleghany  River  it  was  clear  sailing.  At  night  the 
passengers  tied  up  the  boats  along  the  shore,  built  camp¬ 
fires,  roasted  venison  on  forked  sticks  for  supper,  rolled 
up  in  their  blankets  and  went  to  sleep.  Altogether  there 
were  forty-two  individuals*  in  the  company,  and  they  all 
reached  Pittsburgh  without  serious  mishap  after  a  voy¬ 
age  of  some  two  hundred  and  forty  miles.  The  cost  of 
the  trip  by  water  from  Fort  Le  Bceuf  was  but  two  dollars, 
exclusive  of  food.  Provender  was  either  carried  by  the 
people  themselves  or  furnished  by  the  boatmen  as  desired. 

At  Pittsburgh,  then  a  bustling  town  of  five  hundred 
houses,  Schultz  bought  a  big  keel-boat  for  a  hundred 
and  thirtv  dollars  and  continued  on  down  the  Ohio.  He 

j 

gives  the  cost  of  a  water  trip  from  Pittsburgh  to  New 
Orleans  as  ten  dollars,  exclusive  of  board,  though  the 
charge  was  not  a  fixed  one  and  varied  according  to  the 
whim  of  the  boat  proprietor  or  his  desire  for  passengers. 
Wheeling  was  a  flourishing  village  of  two  hundred  houses 
and  a  center  of  travel  between  the  East  and  West.  Two 
through  stages  arrived  there  each  week  from  Philadel¬ 
phia,  and  others  continued  onward  to  Lexington,  Ten¬ 
nessee  and  the  South  over  the  road  formerlv  called 
Zane’s  Trace.  Cincinnati  was  a  thriving  city  of  three 
hundred  houses  and  the  center  of  Ohio  valley  activity. 
The  favorite  route  across  Ohio  from  south  to  north  was 
by  way  of  the  Scioto  River,  which  was  sometimes  navi¬ 
gable  by  keel-boats  for  about  a  hundred  and  ninety  miles. 
At  the  head  of  northbound  traffic  on  the  Scioto  the  travel- 

338 


A  HISTORY  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AMERICA 


ler  walked  across  country  to  a  branch  of  the  Sandusky 
River  and  there  took  passage  in  another  boat  for  con¬ 
veyance  to  the  shore  of  Lake  Erie.  The  journey  from  the 
Ohio  River  to  the  lake  only  required  a  week  or  ten  days. 

Such  were  the  routes  and  facilities  for  communLat:on 
between  the  Atlantic  coast  and  the  middle  states  just 
after  the  nineteenth  century  began.  The  conditions  de¬ 
scribed  by  Michaux,  Cuming  and  Schultz  prevailed  until 
the  general  introduction  of  steamboats  on  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi  Rivers.  It  is  well  within  the  bounds  of  safety 
to  say  that  a  journey  from  New  York,  Boston  or  Phila¬ 
delphia  to  the  western  settlements  during  the  years  in 
question  demanded  almost  as  much  time,  called  for  far 
more  preparation  and  entailed  many  times  the  discomfort, 
hardship  and  danger  now  encountered  in  travelling 
around  the  world. 


. 


* 


- 


- 


10@t0H  COLLEGE  SCHQOE* 

gUSlNESS  AOMttii. 


Date  Due 


MD  A  1901 

I 

pfcO  ^  *** 

1!  II  i  3  I 

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n  i  -u-  i 

VVL- 

MAR  1  - 

2005 

- 

-  ■— — 

• 

Demco  293-5 


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